Pride
by wanderousmaximus
Summary: I don't know...there's crushing and music and drama and stuff.
1. Introductions

Santana ducked through the halls of West Los Angeles High-School trying to avoid the cheerleading coach. She had been trying to recruit her since freshman year. Santana's a junior now and it's getting a little old. She didn't have anything against cheerleading; it just wasn't something she ever wanted to do.

"Still trying to avoid Sylvester?" a familiar voice sounded

"Shut it Fabray she's walking this way" Santana responded while trying to hide her body behind a locker door.

"You know, Santana you can't hide forever." Quinn made sure she said the latina's name loud enough so anyone in a 10 foot radius could hear.

"I hate you so much right now." Santana hissed through her teeth.

"Hey blondie…Latin chick that's been ignoring me for 2 years." Coach Sylvester said as she walked up to the two girls, every word dripping with insult and sarcasm.

"Hey coach." Quinn piped up, Santana just stood there hoping she wouldn't get berated again.

"I'm going to give you one more chance to join the squad. You'd be a good flyer. You've got the body for it and I'd only make the boys purposefully drop you on your head 5 times this year. You're a junior right? Upperclassmen get special privileges." Santana couldn't believe her ears, this woman is absolutely insane and people trust her with their children.

"Aye dios mio" Santana sighed, not able to come up with a better response.

"I'm sorry can you repeat that so I can understand? I don't speak Mexican or teenager."

"That's really racist!" Santana hissed

"Yeah well you'll encounter a lot of racist people in your life, why not start now?" Sylvester said as she stomped off.

"That lady is crazy! And rude! How do you cheer for her, Quinn?"

"She isn't that bad. Come on you should join! It would be fun!"

"No way, no how. Now come on, we'll be late for class."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Dani bursts through the doors of her high-school running full speed. The power in her house went out over night and her alarm clock didn't go off.

"Shit! Shit! Shit! Late on the first day back!" she cursed through gritted teeth. When she finally got to her first class, she stood outside the door trying to compose herself so she didn't look completely winded. After a couple of moments she slowly opened the door and was greeted by an angry glare from her calculus teacher. Ms. Jones was a nice lady and was pretty cool about everything but she hated latecomers. She felt it was a distraction to the class.

"Ahhh, Danielle. Nice of you to finally join us. Find your seat quietly please." The lady said dryly before continuing her lecture. Dani scanned the room looking for a place to sit. First she noticed none of her friends were in this class, she scanned the room again and saw a couple of jocks, some girls talking, and some skater boys. In the second row she saw a dark skinned girl with black hair and a perfect face. Dani couldn't help but smile at the familiar face, she'd only been staring at her for 2 years now. The darker girl was trading notes with a blonde girl next to her in a cheerleading uniform. The seat behind the dark haired girl was empty so Dani made her way over and plopped down in the chair.

_Santana's POV_

The day is going very slowly. Calculus, history, and econ were extremely boring. The only thing I can think about is that Danielle girl from first period. She's really cute and I've never seen her before, this is something I need to fix. When lunch rolls around I'm excited to get a break. I can ask Quinn who the mystery girl is, she's nosey and knows just about everyone.

"So do you know that girl that came into calculus late?" I asked Quinn curiously

"Umm her face looked a little familiar but I'm not completely sure." My friend responded

"I've never seen her before. But Ms. Jones seemed to know who she was so she can't be new. I don't know how I could miss a face like that."

"Keep it in your pants, Santana." Quinn rolled her eyes

"What?! I happen to think she's very attractive, what's wrong with that?"

"You need a girlfriend. I can't deal with you eye-fucking every girl that comes into a room."

I just ignore her, looking around the room for my mystery girl. It doesn't take me long to spot that head full of blonde hair. She's sitting with a flamboyantly gay boy, I don't know his name, and a girl is next to her as well, I think her name is Alex. Quinn starts talking again and I attempt to pay attention but I keep staring at the blonde beauty across the room. Half way through lunch I notice Danielle's friends get up to leave and she's sitting alone. Now's my chance to introduce myself.

"I'm going to go say hi." I say to Quinn as I make my way over. I think I hear her mumble something snarky but I just tune it out.

"Hi, I don't think I've ever seen you here before" I say plopping myself in the seat across from Danielle. She looks up at me shocked just staring.

"Are you ok?" I try to get a response from her.

"Sorry it's just weird." She said shyly

"What's weird?"

"You've never even sent a glance in my direction before and now you're talking to me." I was a bit shocked at how forward she was, but still shy at the same time.

"Oh. Uh I'm sorry." I didn't really know how to respond to that.

"Don't be sorry. I can't really blame you. Last year my wardrobe consisted of all black clothing, and my hair was black. I kind of made it my mission to go unnoticed." She said a little louder than before.

"Well I'm Santana and I'm glad you aren't blending in anymore." I extended my arm to shake her arm.

"I'm Dani it's nice to be noticed by you." She shook my hand.

"So why did you try to blend in?" I asked curiously

"Well I'm from Georgia and I was a little scared to come to a school in LA. You hear so many things about this city, I didn't think I would belong so I did my best to go unnoticed." I smiled at her response

"I'm sure you can tell by now LA isn't all it's cracked up to be."

"No, I think it's amazing here. Where I'm from, most of the people have kind of the same personality. But here, everyone is different and it's ok to be."

Dani and I talked a little longer. I found out she's 16 and a junior, loves math, plays the piano, and has a guilty pleasure that she only shares with the people she's closest with. I'm sure her telling me of her 'secret guilty pleasure' was an invitation for me to get to know her better. Dani is extremely intelligent; she wants to be a math teacher when she's older. Mid conversation Dani looks at her wristwatch and curses under breath before looking up at me.

"I gotta go I have something to do before class".

"Oh ok."

"I'll see you around, Santana." She smiled and I watched as she swayed away.


	2. What do you want from me?

_Dani's POV_

I still can't believe Santana Lopez actually came up to me. I've always wondered what it would be like to have a conversation with her and it was better than I expected. She was so nice and she had quite a bit of confidence. If I didn't know any better I'd think she was flirting with me, but I didn't think she was gay. It's rumored that she sleeps around a little, and I always see her with guys unless she's with that cheerleader. I don't exactly know what to think right now. After school I saw Santana from across the school parking lot. I was shamelessly staring when she looked up and gave me a wave.

The next day I walk into calculus class and Santana is sitting in her same spot next to her blonde friend. The darker girl looks up and smiles at me.

"Hi Dani."

"Hi Santana." She didn't say anything else to me so I didn't try to force anything. When I walked into the cafeteria for lunch Santana had already gotten her food. She walked straight past me and simply said.

"They have curly fries today, get em while you can they go fast." What is she doing? She's talking to me but also not talking to me. She gives me flirty eyes but doesn't always act like she's interested. I make my way over to the table where my friends are sitting and decide to ask their opinion.

"Ok, so the most bizarre thing happened!" I said unable to contain my emotions

"What?" Alex said, seeming not to care.

"Yesterday, Santana Lopez came over here and introduced herself to me. We had a conversation and I found out a few things about her." I filled them in on me and Santana's conversation from yesterday.

"Oh that's good! You can be friends and stop staring at her like a creep." Kurt said sarcastically

"I am not a creep! And that's not all. I think she's flirting with me. She gives me the eyes and small sexy smiles."

"That does not mean she's flirting. Has it occurred to you that she's just being nice?" Alex said.

"Well yeah. It's confusing because she'll wave and say a few words and it seems plutonic. But she'll stare at me a little longer than necessary. I don't know. Maybe I'm making it up in my head."

"Well there's only one way to find out." Kurt said reaching over the table. He dipped his finger in my ketchup and put it on the corner of my mouth.  
"What are you doing?!" I reached up to wipe it off.

"No leave it! She's walking over here. Now when she passes look at her and say something."

"What am I supposed to say?!" I'm nervous now looking at the darker girl making her way by my table. I'm assuming she's leaving since the cafeteria door is a few tables behind me.

"It doesn't matter, just make sure she's looking at you." He says. I estimate Santana will be walking by in about 5 seconds but I have no clue what to say.

"Thanks for the heads up about the curly fries. You were right, they were gone fast." That wasn't half bad, I thought to myself. Santana stopped to look down at me and giggled.

"No problem. I can see you enjoyed them." She reached her hand out towards my face and used her thumb to wipe the ketchup from my mouth. I realized just then that being a messy eater isn't exactly the most attractive thing in the world.

"Oh gosh. That's so embarrassing." I let the words slip from my mouth.

"No it isn't. You're cute." She says as she sucks the ketchup from her thumb. I'm pretty sure my jaw dropped to the floor.

"See you later, Dani." She said and flounced off. I turned to my friends and they were looking just as shocked as I was feeling.

"See! I'm not crazy!" I said flailing my arms around.

"Ok. That was more than flirty, Dani." Kurt said

"Yeah, D. She wants you." Alex spoke next

"What do you mean she wants me?...Like she wants to sleep with me?"

"I don't know. Maybe she does or maybe she really likes you or maybe both."

Yesterday she introduces her self and we talk, she's been waving at me all day, and now she just wiped ketchup off of my mouth and then put it _inside_ of her mouth! She either really likes ketchup or wants to share my germs.

_Santana's POV_

Ok maybe that was a little too forward, her and her friends looked like they'd seen a ghost. I'll just be her friend. Take things slowly and see how it goes. She's probably really shy: she did say that she spent her first two years here trying to blend in and avoid people.

The next few weeks I did my best to be as subtle as I could with Dani. I only said "Hi" and "bye" during calculus. I didn't want her to think I wasn't interested so any other time of the day I saw her I waved and gave her a small smile.

It's Friday and Quinn had to miss class to go cheer at an away football game which meant I had to sit here all class period bored out of my mind. Dani walked in and I said hello. I had done it so often it was almost automatic, and then I had a bright idea. I turned to face the blonde behind me.

"Hey Dani, Quinn's not here. What do you say you keep me company today?" I ask hoping she would say yes. She looked shocked as she got up to sit next to me.

"What's that face for?"

"Well you never say anything but 'hi' or 'bye' to me since we talked a month ago and now you're asking me to sit with you. So if you don't mind me asking. What is it you want from me?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean you walk up to a girl you'd never even seen before and start talking and you went from that to just saying hello and goodbye. Now you want me to sit with you. I don't get it."

"Well.." I say trying to get my words together without making a fool of myself. "I want to get to know you. I don't know why, I just do. And then I realized I could have come off a bit creepy so I backed off."

"Oh, ok. I guess that's acceptable. So…friends?"


	3. Tell Me Something I Don't Know

_Dani's POV_

"So tell me about her."

"Alex, how am I supposed to know who you're talking about?"

"Don't even try to play dumb. We both know exactly who I'm talking about."

Both of us laughed and Alex linked her arm with one of mine as we walked down the hall of our high-school. There's a basketball game today and Alex's boyfriend is on the team, she somehow convinced me to go with her.

"Ok." I finally give in. "She's 17, a junior, she likes to dance, she said she didn't know what she wanted to do when she got older but she knew she wanted to be important."

"Ok…and those rumors about her being a whore?" my brunette friend asked without hesitation.

"I don't know. She doesn't seem like it at all. Santana's smart and wants things for herself. She respects herself for sure, but she's always hanging around guys."

"Fair enough. So is she gay? You know it would be kind of pointless if she weren't"

"That's a good question. I'm trying to figure her out, she's so complicated."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The game isn't really holding my attention. It's almost half time and we're up by 2 points. It's really neck and neck. Our team isn't the best so I'm surprised we're able to keep up and actually be ahead, even if it is only by 2 points. Alex is jumping up and down screaming "Go Finn!" every five seconds. I'm annoyed with her, but he makes her happy so I don't say anything. Before I know it the buzzer sounds and a mans voice comes over the intercom.

"Aaaannddd that's it for the first half of the game ladies and gents! Our home team is up by two points! We have some half time entertainment, please turn your attention to the center of the court!"

Some piano music starts playing and I'm intrigued because I'm a pianist. Whoever is playing is obviously talented. I look up and see a short girl with brown hair walk out and start singing. I don't recognize the song, it sounds like a show tune. Her voice is lovely but this isn't my style of music. The girl only sang 3 songs for which I was grateful. She walked off the court and I assumed the entertainment was over but I heard music again: this time it was from a guitar and I recognized the tune but couldn't quite figure it out. I saw a slim figure walking out onto the court.

"Oh my god." I said lowly

"What?" Alex faced me. I just pointed out in front of me so she could look and see for herself.

"What is she doing?" my friend asked. Before I can respond Santana lifts the mic to her lips and starts singing. She's going for about 30 seconds and I'm pleasantly surprised. She's singing 'One Way or Another' by Blondie and it's perfect.

"Your girl is actually pretty good."

"Yeah…yeah she is." I'm staring intensely at her.

"Hey D, you're drooling." Alex teased. I rolled my eyes and sighed heavily. Santana sings 2 more songs, each better than the last. I don't want it to end, I could listen to her sing all day.

We ended up losing the game by 5 points. It was still disappointing but better than we've done in the two years I've been here. Alex went to find her boyfriend and I waited by the school exit for Santana. After 20 minutes of sitting on the bench outside I see her walk out.

"So, you're a singer." I say. She looks at me and smiles.

"Yeah…It's just for fun. I wasn't even supposed to perform but the girl that was supposed to be in my place got sick. I did it as a favor."

"You were amazing. I'd love to hear you sing more often." I patted the spot next to me, signaling her to sit down.

"I'm really not that good."

"Don't be modest." I nudged her shoulder. There was a bit of an awkward silence so I decided to make a bold move.

"Do you wanna go somewhere?" I asked hopefully.

"With you?" the darker girl responded

"No. With Woody from Toy Story." She laughed. "Of course with me, silly. Unless I'm not cool enough for you."

"I would love to do something with you. What did you have in mind?"

"French fries."

"French fries?"

"Do you not like French fries? If that's the case I don't think we can be friends."

"Do you not remember the stack of curly fries I had on my plate at lunch a few weeks ago?"

"Then it's settled. Lets go." I stood up and offered her my hand. We started walking down the street and Santana looped her arm with mine.

"So tell me something about you that I don't know." Santana said as we slid into a booth.

"umm. My natural hair color is brown?" she laughed.

"Well I could guess that by the color of your eyebrows…and your roots. Tell me something I couldn't guess by looking at you."

"Ok ehhh… I'm really good at Chess."

"Chess? You're such a nerd. Do you wear glasses too?" I blushed because I actually do wear them. I wear my contacts at school but I find them uncomfortable so I take them out when I'm anywhere else.

"Oh my god you do, don't you?" she starts laughing

"Yeah yeah, laugh all you want. So what about you? Tell me something I couldn't guess just by looking at you."

"I don't know. I'm not as interesting as you are. You already know I like to dance, and you just heard me sing. There really isn't anything else."

"Come on. That's a lie. I know there's something." I pressed. Santana sighed and looked around the room for a minute.

"Ok, can you keep a secret?" she asked just above a whisper.

"Yea…." I respond unsure

"I'm serious, Dani. You cannot tell anyone about this. I will kill you."

"Okay! I promise I wont tell anyone. Now what is it?!"

She dug around in her large purse until she found what she was looking for. She glanced at me once more. It was clear by the look on her face that she didn't want to tell me.

"You cannot laugh at me." Santana pulled a little book out of her purse. It had little cartoon characters on it. They looked strange.

"You read comic books?" I didn't think that was embarrassing. I didn't expect it but I didn't think anything was wrong with it.

"Actually it's worse…I read manga."

"Manga?...What's that?"

"You know how a lot of movies are books first?"

"Yeah…"

"Well a lot of anime tv shows are based off of mangas…"

"Sooo…you read anime book things?" I look down at the little book on the table, on the top it's titled 'Soul Eater'

"Soul Eater? That's a weird name." I can't help but laugh.

"I said no laughing!" Santana said as she put the book back in her purse and covered her face. "I'm never telling you anything ever again."

"Oh come on, I was just teasing. I don't think anything is wrong with reading mongor. I wont tell anyone." Now she starts laughing.

"It's 'manga' not 'mongor'."

"Well whatever. I'm not the one reading it."

Santana tried to explain the plot to her anime book but it was hard to keep up. When she figured out that I didn't get it she said we could just watch the first season since they made it into a show.

"So what are your plans for tomorrow?" I asked

"Tomorrow's Saturday right?"

"Yup"

"I have something to do at 3:30 but that's all."

"Really? I have something at 3:30 as well." I smiled at her

"Why do you ask?"

"Just curious." I respond. I was going to ask her to hang out again, but I don't want to seem too greedy.

"Well…do you wanna…get together again? Maybe?" Santana said shyly. I smile at her, admiring how cute she is.

"I think I could make some time for you. How about I text you when I'm done and we can go from there?" I slide my phone over to her so she can put her number in.

"Great. I should get going before my dad starts freaking out." I said getting up from the table

"Ok. I'll talk to you soon." Santana responded as we stepped outside

"Bye, Santana."

"Bye, Dani."


	4. Can I Trust You?

_The next day. 3:30pm  
_Dani's POV

Kurt's friend Jake wrote a musical and my dear friend volunteered me as the composer. It's only a high-school production so I only need to write 4 songs with lyrics and 2 instrumental for dance numbers. Today we hold auditions and the director wants me and the writer to be a part of this process. I just create the music, I don't see how I'm needed for this. The good news is, this isn't a known play so people aren't so desperate to sign up and try to get a good roll. I hear we only have to go through 75 people all together. Surprisingly most of the people weren't half bad, there were a few that really stood out. The best by far was some girl named Rachel. She seemed nice but a little too cocky. Jake called the next name.

"Santana Lopez! You're up!"

She walked out and introduced herself. I was shocked, I didn't peg her as the musical type. She was auditioning for 3 different parts. One was heavy on singing, another was evenly split for acting and singing, and the other was just for being a back up dancer. She decided to sing first, and then read from the script, and dance last. All of it was perfect and I was shamelessly staring the entire time. I could barely pay attention to the rest of the auditions because I kept thinking of Santana. When my day was finally over it was 7. We're all going to meet up next week to make our decisions about the cast. After I use the bathroom I head out of the school and pull my phone out to text Santana. When I get to my car she's standing there waiting for me.

"Hi." She says smiling at me

"Hey! What are you doing here?" I looked at my watch. "It's 7, your audition was at like 4:30."

"Yeah I know. So you still wanna hang out?"

"French fries?" I ask. I'm actually starving

"French fries." She nods her head yes and turns to walk away.

"Santana." I call to her. She turns around. "I drove. We don't have to walk."

"I knew introducing myself to you would be a good idea." Santana said as she walked over towards my car.

"Are you saying you just wanted to use me for my automobile?" I said sarcastically as I opened the door for her.

"Maybe not at first. But if you're going to open the door for me every time I just may have to use you." She said as she slid into the passenger seat. I laughed and made my way over to the driver's side.

We were at the restaurant for a couple of hours mostly talking about the musical. I told her how Kurt roped me into being the composer. I praised her for auditioning for 3 rolls and killing all of them. I honestly don't know how we'll decide where to put her.

"Oh gosh it's 9:30. Do you have to be home?" Santana asked

"Nope, it doesn't really matter."

"Oh. Yesterday you said you needed to go before your dad had a heart attack."

"That only applies when he's actually in town. Which is pretty much just 8% of the time. He travels for work a lot."

"I see. What about your mom?"

This is kind of a sore spot for me, talking about my mother isn't my favorite thing in the world.

"Umm. She.." I started but Santana cut me off.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you. You don't have to tell me."

"No.. No it's ok." I took a deep breath. "My mom left 8 years ago. Haven't heard from her since. There was no warning or anything. She just abandoned us. After that, my dad kind of became a workaholic."

"That sucks. I'm sorry you had to go through that." As I was about to respond our waitress came over.

"Hey guys, I'm sorry but we're past closing time."

"Oh ok." I pull out my wallet to pay for the food. Santana tried to convince me to split it down the middle but I refused. I ate most of it anyway.

"So where do you live?" I asked as we made our way into the parking lot.

"I'm not too far, I can walk from here."

"Santana there is no way I'm letting you walk the streets of LA at night by yourself. I'm driving you and that's final." She looked like she was about to protest but she just smiled and started walking towards my car.

"Do you mind if I make a little pit stop?" I asked as I pulled the car over.

"Um no. Not at all." She responded. I got out of the car and walked over to the passenger side and opened her door.

"Come on." I extended my hand to help her up.

"Where are we going?"

I walked up to my house and jammed my key into the door. When I opened it I heard rapid footsteps and jingling, letting me know my dog was making her way over. I picked her up and she immediately started going crazy and licked my face.

"Ok! Ok! Not the lips! That's gross!" I half yelled half laughed. I got busy playing with my dog and almost forgot about Santana. I looked up and saw her standing against a wall looking a little uncomfortable.

"You aren't allergic to dogs are you?!" I asked concerned.

"No. Not at all."

"Okay, well this…" I walk over towards her still holding my pet. "…is Señorita Margarita." Santana threw her head back and started laughing uncontrollably

"What?!" I ask her. But I already know it's a ridiculous name. I named her when I was 5 years old, and I never understood why my parents let me.

"What kind of name is 'Señorita Margarita'?" Santana is still laughing while she takes her from my arms and pets her.

"It's the kind of name a 5 year old comes up with"

"Señorita Margarita is pretty cute, and I guess her name grows on you." She keeps rubbing her head. "What did you need to stop here for?"

"I have to feed Margie and she probably has to pee. She hasn't been out since 3 this afternoon."

"Margie?" Santana laughs.

"Don't laugh at my dog's nickname! Her whole name can get pretty long to say."

"Oh goodness. I don't think I'll ever get over this."

I go over to the cabinet under the sink and grab Margie's bag of food and put a scoop into her bowl that's sitting in the corner. Santana put my dog down and she immediately ran to her bowl and ate all of her food quickly. I didn't feel like taking Margie on a walk so I just let her into the backyard for a while. Santana and I sat on the couch to watch some TV. Nothing good was on so we settled on Teen Mom, it isn't the best show in the world but it's extremely entertaining.

"Do you have to be home by a certain time?" I ask, realizing it's now past 11

"No, I don't have a curfew. As long as I let my parents know I'm alive every few hours they don't mind how late I stay out."

"Oh cool…" There's kind of an awkward silence. I grit my teeth and decide to ask the question that could possibly end whatever it is I have going with Santana.

"Can I…can I ask you something kind of personal?" I start pulling at my fingers nervously. Santana gets a shocked and nervous look on her face. She thinks for a minute before answering.

"Uh sure. Go for it."

"Do you really sleep with as many guys as everyone says? Or do people just talk about you for fun? Because you don't seem like someone who would sleep around."

Santana thought for a while. It seemed like forever had passed and she was still thinking. I was starting to get nervous. I really hope I didn't offend her.

"I-…" She started speaking and then stopped

"I'm sorry. I really didn't mean to say anything to offend you." She still isn't talking and I don't know what to do.

"Santana?" I ask trying to get her to tell me something so I know where we stand. Finally she looks up at me.

"I don't know why. But I'm trusting you…I can trust you right?" she asks seriously

"Of course you can." I answer. What is she going to tell me?

"Ok…To answer your question. No, I don't sleep around. However, I make it seem like I do. I used to make out with a lot of guys at parties. I would get them really drunk and take them into a bedroom and we would just sleep. They were so drunk they couldn't even keep their eyes open. So when they woke up they would think they slept with me. And now I have a few guy friends that I hang out with to kind of keep up the image."

"Ok. Why would you do that?"

"I did it because…" she took a deep breath "I did it to hide me being a lesbian."

I was surprised but not so much at the same time. I also felt good knowing for sure what team she's on. I couldn't help but smile.

"I guess that makes sense." I say and Santana looks up at me.

"You don't think that's horrible?" I think for a minute trying to get the appropriate response together in my head before speaking.

"I understand that you don't want people to know, and I don't think what you did was horrible. But I do think that making people think badly of you was hurtful to yourself. You're a pretty awesome person, and it sucks that no one can see that."

"I guess I never thought of it that way. I've been so busy making sure no one catches on to my secret that I didn't consider the backfire."

"Does anyone know?" I asked curiously

"Quinn knows and parents know. I just don't want anyone else to find out. I'm afraid of being judged. You know, some people are so harsh for no reason. It makes it hard to be proud of who I am."

"I completely understand where you're coming from. Like I said before, you can trust me. Your secret is safe with me." I smiled and touched her shoulder. I was surprised when Santana leaned forward and pulled me into a tight hug. I returned it with no hesitation and started rubbing circles on her back.

"Thanks Dani, I never thought I would be able to tell anyone else."

"No problem." I said as she pulled away.

We started watching TV again and I think it was sometime past 12. I looked over at Santana to ask if I should take her home but she was curled up into a ball fast asleep. I got up from the couch to grab a blanket for her. After I covered her body I admired her face for a moment and brushed some strands of hair out of her face.

"Goodnight Santana." I whispered and made my way to my room for the night.

* * *

**Sorry it took me so long to update! I've had a few personal things going on, but i'm back now. I should be updating every other day.  
Enjoy! and as always suggestions and requests are always welcomed.**

**Also. Follow me on tumblr so we can be friends. My URL is wanderousmaximus**


	5. You'll be Playing the Role of

_Sunday Morning. _

_Dani's POV_

I slowly started waking up from my deep sleep. I can feel my body is in some odd position. After about 5 minutes I roll over and look at the clock on my night stand: it's a little past 9:30. I have to get up and feed Margie and take her on a walk, but I really don't want to get up. I lay my arm over my forehead for a while and then I remember Santana's here. I popped up out of bed and ran to my mirror, trying to make myself look presentable. I ran quickly into my bathroom and brushed my teeth before walking out into the living room. When I looked at the couch Santana wasn't there and the blanket I had covered her with was folded. She wasn't in the bathroom because I was just in there: I assumed she left until I heard giggling. I turned my head to the sliding door that leads to my backyard. Santana was running around with Margie. I just stood there and watched them, internally smiling. Occasionally they would start playing tug of war with a squeaky toy: eventually Santana would give it up and they would run around again. Finally they both got tired and sat down on the grass. Margie in Santana's lap getting her head petted. I decided now was a good time to go outside.

"Goodmorning!" Santana said looking up at me

"Hi! Having fun without me I see."

"Yeah well I woke up early and she seemed to have some energy. You feed her in the mornings too right?"

"Oh yeah, I need to do that." I start walking towards the house.

"No need! I did it already."

"Oh. What time did you wake up?"

"Around 7. Margie and I have been bonding. We watched a little TV, she had breakfast and I stole some of your orange juice, I hope you don't mind. I let her out to use the bathroom for a while, we watched more Tv, and then we came out here to play for a while!" she says picking my dog up and giving her a kiss on the head.

"Thank you, that's so sweet of you. I'm not an early riser at all, I usually get up to take care of her and then go back to sleep." I admitted

"Oh ok. Then I'll get out of your hair so you can get some sleep."

"No, you don't have to go."

"Don't worry about it. I should get home so my parents don't get too worried. They're laid back, but they still get concerned."

"Right, of course!" I say not believing I didn't think of that. Santana and I walk to the front door and she pulls me into a hug. I don't think I'll ever get used to how this feels.

"Thanks for listening last night and not judging."

"Of course. You can talk to me anytime, my door is always open." We're still hugging

"That means a lot to me." She finally pulls away and gives me a smile. It was a different smile than she usually gives me. It's more genuine and happy…and that made me happy.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

It's the middle of the week. Ever since Saturday, Santana and I have gotten closer. On Monday she asked me to come over to her house to help her with calculus, and we did the same on Tuesday. I reluctantly declined her invite today because I have to help make the decisions for the casts for the musical, and I really need to work on the songs.

"Ok soooo. Santana Lopez. I really liked her." Jake said.

"Yeah she's really talented, good singer, dancer, and actor" The director, Artie spoke next.

"I agree. But where do we put her? She would be great anywhere. Jake, since you wrote the script what do you think? Who do you picture her as?"

"Well…thinking about it. There weren't many people with great voices. I think that if we want this to be a great show, we should make her the lead. She didn't audition for a big role but she's a triple threat and that's what's needed for the character of Lucy."

"Then it's settled." Artie agreed. "Dani, do you think her voice would fit with the songs you're writing?"

"Yes, definitely. And now that I know what I'm working with I can write the music to fit her voice."

"Great. When we've finished the casting could you send out emails to everyone letting them know their roles if they got one and if they didn't…you know, go easy on them?" Jake asked. I wanted to argue with him, but I decided that if I wanted this to go quickly and smoothly it wouldn't be the best idea.

I had planned to go home and work on the music thinking that I would be in "Musical" mode but I'm not. I still have two weeks to finish everything. I pull out my phone to send Santana a text.

**Hey, what are you up to?**

She replies almost immediately.

**_Nothing. I'm at Quinn's about to head home._**

**Is she driving you?**

**_Nope, I'm walking :)_**

**_Can you come over?_**

**_Sure, I'll be there in 20 minutes._**

**Ok. The back door will be unlocked. See you soon.**

It only takes me 5 minutes to get home from school, so Santana will be here in about 15 minutes. I unlock the sliding back door and head upstairs to my room. I'll play around on my piano until she gets here.

I've written over half of a song. It's simple and I can tell it's going to be pretty short. I was flowing pretty nicely until the bridge came up. I run my fingers over the keys and start to sing hoping the rest will just magically come out.

'_I'm going my own way..' _"Ugh" '_I'm going…" _

"Sounds pretty good." I pop my head up and see Santana standing in the doorway. I must have been sitting here for a while.

"No it doesn't. I can't get the rest out and this part doesn't flow as well as the rest does."

"Ok. Start from the beginning."

"I don't know, it's still pretty rough. It-"

"No excuses, it's just me. Now let me here it."

I take a deep breath and nod my head before starting from the beginning. It sounds a lot smoother this time, but once the bridge comes up I get stuck again.

_'I'm going my own…' _ "Ugh!" I let my head fall on my keyboard.

"It sounds better than you think it does."

"Do you have any suggestions?" I look up at her. I can tell something is going on in her head but she just shakes her head no. "Oh come on. I know you've got something."

"It's your song. It's not my place to-"

"Nonsense! People co-write all the time. Pleaseee." I beg

"Ok. So, this song is about someone you love that let you down right?" I nod my head. "I think the first thing you need to do is slow it down. This song is personal and really heartfelt."

She was right. I was playing it really fast so I try it slower. It sounded much better, but again I got stuck on the bridge.

"Ugh! Trying to write this song is like trying to pull teeth out of a mules ass!"

Santana giggled "You'll get it. Just be patient."

"You have to help me with these words." She sighs before responding

"Alright, so I have something I think will work. You need to showcase your voice and add some runs. So play the last part of the chorus into the bridge for me."

I start playing and she must be a fast learner because she knows when to start.

_'I've got a world of chances for you. I've got a world of chances, chances that you're burning through.'_

I look up at Santana before the bridge starts and I can see her putting words together in her mind.

_'Ohhhh. I'm going my own way, my faith has lost it's strength again. And ohhhhh. It's been too hard to say. We're falling off the edge again…' _

"Santana! That was perfect!" I jump up and hug her without even thinking about it.

"I'm glad you like it. Who inspired it?"

"Actually." I pulled her over to sit on the bed. "This song is for the musical, and I can't believe I forgot. That's the whole reason I asked you to come over. We chose our cast!"

"AND?!" Santana asked practically jumping out of her skin

"You got the part of Lucy!"

"…but…that's…that's the lead. I auditioned for minor parts." She looked confused

"Yes, but we all agreed that you were the best person to play this part."

"Oh my god. Rachel, is going to flip! Where did you put her?"

"Wait, you know that Rachel girl?"

"Yeah. We're kinda friends."

The disbelief must have been showing on my face.

"Look I know she's really cocky, and annoying, and doesn't know when to shut up but she isn't that bad of a person…all the time."

I couldn't do anything but laugh. "How can you be friends with someone and think all of those bad things about them at the same time?"

"It's really complicated. You have to get to know her to understand. But seriously, who did she get?"

"We cast her as Marissa. It's still a big role."

"Why didn't you pick her for Lucy? Her voice is bigger."

"She has a fantastic voice. But it's meant for Broadway show tunes. This is more modern, and you're a great dancer as well as a good singer. You were the obvious pick. Do you not want this?"

"I…" She trailed off. Finally a smile grew on her face. "I got the lead."

"Yes you did, and you're going to do great."


	6. Six

_3 Weeks Later_

_Santana's POV_

The past 3 weeks have been great. After helping Dani with her song she asked me to do the same with the others for the musical. It was fun and we finished them so fast we decided to work on some others for fun. We're set to start rehearsing for the play in a week. First we'll all work with Dani together and individually to learn all of the songs. The individual sessions are so she can learn which key is most compatible with everyone's voices. We spend so much time together I don't need that, so we decided to just use the time slot to hang out in the auditorium and play around with some of the other songs we started writing.

Once Dani is happy with how everyone sounds we'll learn all of the dance numbers, which are surprisingly choreographed by a football player by the name of Mike. The music and dance alone could take up to 3 weeks by themselves and we're supposed to be learning the script on our own time. It's like having another 2 classes. I didn't realize how hard I was zoning out until I heard the school bell ring. It was English, my last period of the day for which I was thankful. I made my way out into the hallway to my locker. I grabbed my belongings and headed for the door. Dani was in her usual place by the door with her friends. She looked up and waved at me.

"French fries?" I asked stopping in front of her.

"French fries." She nodded her head.

"Uhemm." Someone cleared their throat.

"Oh sorry. Santana, this is Kurt and Alex." She pointed to her friends.

"Hi. Nice to meet you."

"Yes it is nice to finally meet the girl who's stolen Dani away from us." Kurt said with a smile

"Seriously, it's like she doesn't exist anymore." Alex agreed.

"That is so not true!" Dani tried to argue.

"Suuuure" they both glared

"Do you guys want to come with us?" I asked hoping to relieve the little bit of tension. Neither of them could come. They had plans with their boyfriends, so it was just Dani and I.

* * *

"Can I ask you a personal question?" Dani asked as we ate our food

"What is it with you and personal questions?" I tried not to sound rude, although I am genuinely curious. Every time she asks me a 'personal question' I end up telling her something that no one else knows.

"Never mind then. I wont ask you." She put her head down and started eating again.

"Alright, go ahead and ask me."

"No it's fine."

"Dani." She looks up at me. "Ask me your question." She doesn't say anything; it looks like she's trying to read my face.

"Ok…have you…ever had a girlfriend?"

I wasn't expecting this. We talk about a lot of things but our love lives never come up.

"Oh…yeah, I had one"

"What happened with her?"

I took a deep breath before going into the story.

"Her name was Kate. She was a senior last year and I was a sophomore. She was a cheerleader, friends with Quinn and that's how we met. One night we were all at her house, Q passed out early so it was just the two of us awake. We were talking and the next thing I knew we were kissing. We dated for 7 months, she broke it off with me a month before her graduation and now she's going to Penn State." I was a little saddened by the memories of my ex.

"Did you love her?" Again another startling question

"Yes, the best I could. She was deeper in the closet than me. Her parents didn't know and none of her friends. She wouldn't let me talk to her in school and I never went to her house. She was really paranoid about people finding out about us."

"I'm sorry. That sounds like it sucks."

"Its ok. I've moved on. So now that you know absolutely everything about me. What's your story?"

"What do you mean? I'm not that interesting, you know everything already."

"Nope don't lie. I can tell you're holding stuff back; I've just never pushed it. But now I reserve the right to yank your darkest secrets out of you."

She laughed softly.

"Come on. What's your story?" I started sipping my soda.

Dani sighed before speaking. "Ok. So you already know I'm from Georgia, and I moved out here before my freshman year."

"Why'd you move?"

"My dad says it was for work. But he can work from anywhere. I think part of the reason was because I came out in 7th grade and was getting bullied pretty badly."

"So you are a lesbian" I thought out loud.

"That's all you got out of that whole sentence?" Dani laughed

"I never knew, I've been curious!"

"Why didn't you just ask me, silly?"

"I don't know, it felt strange." Finally her sentence from earlier clicked in my head. "Wait did you say you came out in 7th grade? You were 12"

"Yeah I kind of always knew. When I was 10 I said I was going to marry Beyoncé. I've never been attracted to boys, it's always been girls."

"Wow. I wish I was as confident with my sexuality as you."

"Well I've known who I was longer than you have. It takes time, you'll get there."

"I'll take your word for it. What's the other reason?"

"What?"

"You said that was part of the reason you moved. What's the other part?"

"Oh…" Dani's face dropped and she looked a little hurt. "I think my mom. She left, so my dad started working more. People always wanted him to talk about it, but he isn't that type of guy. He doesn't like people to bring up bad things that have happened to him. He also hasn't dated at all and other moms told him that if he wanted what was best for me he needed to find me a mother so I could live in a "proper household." I think he moved to get away from everyone in our hometown questioning his life choices."

"That makes sense…" I take a moment to decide if I should bring it up or not. "So…do you remember anything about your mom?"

"Now look who's asking all the personal questions."

"I'm trying to learn all I can while you're still open to it, if you don't want to answer that's fine."

Dani smiled at me. "I kind of remember my mom. From what I remember she was a loving woman. She was my favorite person, she was always there for me no matter what. It was actually her idea to get Señorita Margarita. I never understood why she left, there's just a hole inside of me that will never be filled." She paused and looked like she was about to fall apart. I slid out from my side of the booth and in next to her and wrapped my arm around her. Dani turned a little and rested her head on my shoulder and wrapped her arm around my waste.

"Goodness I didn't mean to get all emotional." She mumbled

"It happens to the best of us." I started stroking her arm.

Dani wasn't crying and she wasn't talking anymore. Now I know talking about her mother is a real sore spot. I don't think she's ever really said anything about her to anyone before. Even if she wasn't hysterically sad right now Dani still needed someone, and I'm glad to be that person.

* * *

It's finally Saturday, but I don't have anything to do. Quinn's away cheering for our football team somewhere and I honestly don't like any of my other friends enough to waste my weekend on them. So I decide to text the only other person I want to spend time with.

**Hey. What are you doing today? Wanna hang out?**

I sent the text before looking to see what time it was. It's a little past 8:30, Dani is most definitely not up yet. I suspect she wont get back to me until 11 or 12 pm, that girl can sleep forever. I'll make myself busy until this afternoon. I went to the bathroom and took a 45-minute bath. After getting dressed I went to the kitchen and made breakfast for my mom and me: my dad occasionally has to work on Saturdays and today unfortunately was one of those days. After breakfast I went to my room to busy myself with some homework: before I knew it, it was 12:30 and I had finished everything.

"Santana! Do you want to watch a movie with me?" My mom called from downstairs. Dani hasn't texted back yet.

"Yeah I'll be right down!" I called back. I made my way down the steps and plopped on the living room couch. My mom tried, and failed, looking for something to watch on Netflix. We have it connected through our Wii and the remote is a little difficult to operate sometimes. The movie is half way in but I don't know what's going on.

Why hasn't Dani texted me back? Usually she replies right away. Before I can start overthinking the doorbell rings. My mom looks at me expectantly. But I don't want to get up so I give her my best puppy dog eyes. She rolls her eyes and breathes out a heavy sigh.

"Ugh! You are so lazy!"

I smile to myself as she gets off the couch. I can hear my mom speaking to someone but I don't hear anyone else's voice.

"Santana!" my mom calls

"Yes?" …She didn't answer back. I got up and made my way to the front. My heart drops as I see Dani standing there, sobbing. Her hair is a mess, she's wearing glasses and sweats, and her eyes are puffy. She looks up at me and immediately runs towards me, I instinctively open my arms for her and pull her into a hug.

"What happened? What's wrong?" I ask concerned. She just buries her face in my chest and sobs more.

"Come on, lets go sit." I pull her over to the couch and she clings even tighter to me as we sit down. My mom comes over looking at me expecting an explanation. I would gladly give it to her but I don't even know what's going on.

"Mama can you bring us some water, please?" She goes into the kitchen without a word and returns with two glasses of water. She sits them down and starts to walk away.

"I'll be in the kitchen." I know my mom was just making herself busy to give us some privacy.

"Dani. I want to help you, but I cant do that if you don't tell me what's going on." I started rubbing circles on her back.

"Ma-Margie…she died. She was fine this morning. I walked her and fed her and then I went back to sleep. I went into the living room and I thought she was just sleeping in her bed but..." She started sobbing again.

"How long?" I ask.

"Maybe…since 10." I look at the clock that's on our cable box. It's almost 2 so Dani has been dealing with this for 4 hours, that's exhausting. I stand up and reach my hand out.

"Come with me." She looks at me confused and takes my hand. I grab her water and lead her up the stairs. On our way to my room I notice she's holding my hand tight. Like if she lets go she'll lose me too.

"Why are we up here?" she asks. Her words are clearer now that she isn't crying so much.

"You." I sit her on the bed. "Are going to get some rest, you've been dealing with this by yourself for a long time. That's hard."

I move around to the other side of my bed and lay down patting the spot next to me. Dani lays down on her back looking rather stiff and uncomfortable, so I grab her hand and laced our fingers together. She rolls over and scoots close so she's curled into my side. I start playing with her hair and wait for her to fall asleep, which surprisingly only takes about 10 minutes. I slowly get up, careful not to wake her and put a blanket over her.

I made my way downstairs to the kitchen so I could explain everything to my mom.

"So will you tell me what's going on? Who is that girl? And why was she so upset?"

"That girl is Dani. She's a friend from school."

"Just a friend?" My mom asked suspiciously

"Yes mom, just a friend. She's actually a very good friend."

"If you say so…So why was she crying?"

"Oh…her dog died this morning. She was by herself."

"That upset over a pet?"

I explained to my mom how Dani basically lives on her own. Her dad is always away on business trips and her mom left when she was really young. Margie was the only constant in her life...and now that I think about it, she was the last thing connecting her to her mother. I remember earlier in the week Dani told me it was her mom that got Señorita Margarita for her.

"Oh I see. Losing that dog was like losing her mother all over again. Poor girl."

"Yeah, I guess it is. I can't imagine going through that."

"Make sure she stays for dinner, and if she doesn't want to be alone she can stay for a few days."

"Really?" I ask ecstatically.

"Yes. She's a young girl going through a hard time and she turned to you for help. If you say she's a good friend of yours, that's enough for me."

I give my mom a hug and go back up stairs. Dani's still sleeping so I sit in the chair at my desk and start reading a book.

A few hours later I hear rustling and look over to my bed. Dani opens her eyes slightly and I smile at her.

"Hey, how long was I asleep?"

"About 3 hours." I walk over to the bed and lay down next to her. "Are you feeling better?"

"Yeah, I didn't realize how tired I was until I laid down."

"That's good."

"I'm sorry about coming over here and losing it on you. I don't even remember how I got here. I was so upset everything is pretty hazy."

"Don't apologize. I'm glad I could be here for you." I reached my hand out to start playing with her long wavy strands of blonde hair.

"Dinner will be ready in a little while."

"Oh I should get going then." She started to get up but I gently pulled her back down next to me. "No, you're staying here. I'm not letting you go back to that house by yourself."

"Are you sure? I don't want to intrude on your family."

"I'm positive. My mom is the one that suggested you stay."

"Thank you, San." Dani grabbed my hand and looked me in the eyes. "Thank you for everything."

"You're welcome." I smiled at her. Dani released my hand to brush some of the stray strands of hair out of my face and then she started rubbing small circles on my cheek with her thumb. She moves a little closer so our foreheads are together. She smiles at me and closes the gap between us to press a lingering peck on my lips.


	7. Cookie Fluff

_Monday Morning  
Santana's POV_

"Oh my God! What do I do? What did it mean? Do we talk about it? Tell me what to do!"

"Santana, calm down!" Quinn shouted at me. I'm kind of freaking out. Dani kissed me on Saturday, and she stayed at my house until early this morning. I didn't have time to talk to Quinn about it right away so it's been boiling inside of me for 2 days now.

"Ok, I'm sorry." I looked around the school halls to make sure no one was listening. "She kissed me, and then she acted like nothing happened. I don't even know if it meant anything."

"If she kissed you, I'm sure it meant something."

"I'm not so sure. She came over really upset because her dog died, she was extremely attached to her."

"Oh…" She trailed off

"You think she kissed me because she was emotional, don't you?"

"I did not say that"

"You didn't have to, I can read you like a book. And you might be right. I think it could be either one so I wont get my hopes up. I'll let her come to me when she's ready, so until then I'll give her some space."

"That sounds like a good idea…but don't you have to rehearse the songs for the musical after school everyday this week?"

"Shit. You're right….I'll figure something out."

_Dani's POV_

I left Santana's house pretty early. I had to go home and get my backpack before school. Spending the weekend with her family was amazing. Her parents are so sweet and loving. Santana took great care of me, it was a different kind of feeling. Different in a good way, although I can quite describe it in words. I had never experienced a true family dynamic before. I never thought I was really missing anything growing up with just my dad, but after that experience I promised myself when I got older and had a family of my own it would be just like that.

I realized I was just sitting on my bed lost in my thoughts when I looked at the clock on my nightstand.

"Crap" It's 7:50 and I have class at 8. There's no way I'm going to make it on time. I contemplate just ditching, but I know if I stay home with nothing to do I'll just get upset over Margie. It's weird not having her around.

I'm about to open the front door to my high-school when I hear giggling. I look to my right and see Alex and Finn making out behind a car. I think they're trying to be discrete but the windows on the car aren't tinted…and it's a small car.

"Alex!" I yell in the couple's direction. My friend pulls away from her boyfriend and looks at me.

"Dani!" she runs over to me. "Shouldn't you be in class?"

"Shouldn't your tongue be in your own mouth?"

"Ok, smartass. Where have you been all weekend I tried texting and calling."

"I…I was with Santana."

"All weekend?" Alex wiggled her eyebrows up and down suggestively.

"Yeah, she took care of me…um. Señorita Margarita died." I looked at the ground trying to hold it together. I felt Alex put her arms around my neck and pull me into a hug.

"Oh Dani, I'm so so sorry. Why didn't you call me? I know how much she means to you."

"I don't know. I don't even remember-"

"Hey babe, I'm gonna go to class." Finn interrupted. I forgot he was even out here.

"Ok, I'll see you at lunch." Alex said in her boyfriends direction but never letting go of me.

"You don't remember what?" she asked.

"I don't even remember going to Santana's house. One minute I was crying on the floor of my house, the next I was in her living room."

"Is your dad in town?"

"No, I think he's in India or something so contacting him is kind of hard."

"Why don't you come over after school. We can do movies…and food. Lots of food." Alex smiled

"I really want to but everything for the musical is in full swing this week. I have to work with everyone on all the songs."

"Ok, then I'll see you at lunch. We're half an hour late to class, we should get going."

The first part of the school day was ok. I got scolded for being 30 minutes late to calculus of course. I couldn't really pay attention, my mind was elsewhere. At lunch Santana usually comes by to say hi, but she didn't. Come to think about it, she hadn't spoken to me all day. She used to greet me before and after class, in the halls between periods we always made some sort of small talk and plan to hang out at someone's house. I haven't even seen her, except for first period. Strange. I look around the cafeteria and see the darker girl with a group of people. Quinn Fabray, Rachel something or other, a guy with a Mohawk, and a couple of other males obviously on the football team. Her back was turned to me.

"Hello earth to Dani!" I was brought out of my thoughts by Kurt waving his hand in my face.

"I'm sorry. Just…deep in thought."

"Ok, what is it? I know you're upset about Margie, but there's something else bugging you." Alex said

"It's Santana…"

"Did you and your girlfriend have a fight?"

"She's not my girlfriend, Alex. And no we aren't fighting…at least I don't think we are. I just wish I knew what was going on in her head, I don't know what she wants and I can't read her at all."

"As a fellow gay, I'm going to help you. Now tell me every detail of what happened. Alex told me you spent the entire weekend at her house with her family."

I sighed and glared at my two friends. I could tell they were more interested in the drama of it all.

"So, I basically went to her house crying my eyes out. Her mom answered the door, which could have been really awkward. But it wasn't, I asked for Santana and she immediately pulled me into the house and closed the door. Santana came from wherever she was and we eventually went up to her room and she just held me until I fell asleep. When I woke up she told me that I was staying with her because she didn't me to be alone…and then…"

"And then what?!" Both of my friends said eagerly chewing on their food and staring with the strangest looks on their faces.

"I may have kissed her…"

"OH MY GOD!" they shouted dramatically, drawing some attention to us temporarily.

"Did she kiss you back?"

"Well it was just a soft peck, so I don't know if she wanted to. But she didn't pull away either."

"So I'm guess you guys didn't talk about it either?" Alex chimed in.

"No, we both just acted like it didn't happen…I guess that's why she might be avoiding me. Maybe she didn't want to but also didn't want to make me feel bad because my dog had just died." I let out a huge sigh and rested my forehead on the table in front of me. Kurt shifted towards me and started rubbing small circles on my back.

"As your gay advisor. I advise you to talk to your lady about what happened. Just lay all your cards on the table and see where it goes from there. You guys have been dancing around each other for over 2 months now. It's time to take action!"

"I agree with Tinker Bell. Just go for it Dan."

"Thank you for the endearing nickname, 'Sixteen and surprisingly not pregnant'"

I couldn't help but laugh at my friends as they continued bickering and calling each other names. Alex and Kurt are two completely different personalities, exactly the opposite of one another. But they're still friends, and that's what I love about them. They're so open minded and loving.

"Ok you two that's enough!" I shouted, finally breaking up their little fight. They stopped talking and pouted.

"Now kiss and make up." I coaxed.

"I love you, bitch." Kurt said first

"I love you too, twinkle toes." Alex smiled

* * *

"Ok Josh you sound pretty good but make sure you work on your breath control, your high notes will sound a lot better. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Ok. Thanks, Dani. Later."

"Wow, I really hope he doesn't butcher your songs that badly during the show." I pop my head up and look towards the voice.

"Santana…Hi. I didn't think you were coming."

"Why wouldn't I show up? We have to practice." She came over and sat on the piano bench next to me.

"Yeah, but I thought you were mad at me. You haven't talked to me all day."

"I know. I'm sorry, I honestly don't really know why."

"Is it…because I kissed you?"

She took a deep breath. "Maybe…" she looked nervous.

"Look about that. I-"

"No it's ok. I understand, you were upset and really emotional. It was a tough day for you."

There was an awkward silence. I couldn't figure out what to say. I was very upset, but that wasn't the reason I kissed her.

"I wanted to thank you again for taking care of me. I don't know what I would have done if I had to deal with it alone."

Santana and her parents were nothing short of amazing. They treated me like I was their own. Santana's dad even handled Margie's body for me.

"It really wasn't a problem. Anytime you need anything feel free to come over. My parents love you."

"I kind of love them too."

"Good. When does your dad come back?"

"Umm. I think next week Wednesday?"

"Ok. So you'll be at my house every night for dinner."

"What? No, I can't do that. I was squatting in your house for 2 days!"

"My parents told me not to take no for an answer. I don't know why, but they've really taken to you."

"Alright…but I'm bringing the dessert."

"Deal" Santana slid closer and pulled me into a hug.

I'm so glad Santana and I are good again. She came over to my house Tuesday and Wednesday after our music rehearsal and she even met Alex. They get along extremely well actually.

"Ready to go to dinner?" Santana said

"You seriously meant every day? I can't, I feel bad."

"No you have to come. We have a surprise for you."

"A surprise?"

"Yes now lets go!"

Santana and I put our shoes on and walked out the door. I decided to drive us because I didn't feel like walking.

"Mama! Daddy! We're here!" Santana shouted as we walked in the door. Which was strange because she never usually said anything until she actually saw one of her parents.

"Ok, honey! Bring her in!"

Santana turned to face me.

"Close your eyes." I did as she asked; she took my hands into hers and led me through the house. She told me to sit and I did, landing on the couch.

"Don't open your eyes yet" I could feel her move away from me.

"Ok…Open!"

"Oh My God!" Santana was holding a little dog. She was a cream color and obviously a puppy.

"Dani, this…" she came over to the couch and sat next to me. "this is Cookie Fluff." She sat the dog in my lap. I couldn't help but start laughing.

"I'm sorry. "Cookie Fluff"?"

"Yes. I know you're fond of weird ass names for pets. We can call her Cookie for short. Also I know you may not want to have her at your house, so she can stay here if you want and you can visit her whenever."

"You got her for me?" I asked shocked

"Well yeah. I noticed you were still pretty upset. Mom and dad thought it was a great idea, and they agreed we could keep her here if need be."

There was a little dog bed on the floor so I set Cookie in it and immediately launched my self at Santana giving her the best hug I possibly could.

* * *

It's finally Friday. This whole week has been really good and at the same time it's been a little sad. My dog passed away, but I got another one that's just as cute and sweet. No other pet could replace Margie but Cookie made me feel a hell of a lot better. I open the classroom door, it's my first of the day. I search the room for Santana in her usual spot but what I see surprises the hell out of me.

"Hi Dani." She says sadly

"San…are you…are you wearing a cheerleading uniform?"


	8. When I Kissed You

I open the classroom door; it's my first of the day. I search the room for Santana in her usual spot but what I see surprises the hell out of me.

"Hi Dani." She says sadly

"San…are you…are you wearing a cheerleading uniform?"

She put her head down on the desk and groaned.

"Soo….are you gonna tell me why you're wearing that thing."

Santana sat up and turned to face me, letting out a frustrated breath before launching into her story.

*Flashback*

_Thursday: After music rehearsals_

_Santana's POV_

_I was walking through the halls of my high school after a great music session with Dani. I was thinking of how great the play would be, it's a great storyline and the music is fantastic as well. Suddenly a very angry sounding voice blared through the intercom interrupting me from my thoughts._

_"Santana Lopez. Sue Sylvesters office. Right now."_

_I sighed and turned on my heal backtracking to the cheer coach's office._

_"You summoned me." I said as I knocked on the door_

_"Yes. Sit down, ethnic." _

_I stared, bewildered at what I was just called. It's not that it was particularly offensive, it was just…weird and not something people say._

_"Ok, what do you want from me now?"_

_The coach pulled a cheerleading uniform from under her desk._

_"No. I've told you a million times, I don't want to be a cheerleader. It's not my thing."_

_"Here's the thing. You're tall, pretty good looking, you have a nice body, please don't take that the wrong way, and you're a fantastic dancer, don't ask me how I know that I just do."_

_"Still not joining." _

_"Ok. So what's gonna happen when you're outed as a gay? If you're in this uniform you rule the school and no one will bother you."_

_I looked up shocked._

_"Oh how did I find out? I have very excellent gaydar, I was taught by the finest lesbians in Utah how to spot a girl in the closet. Now I must give you credit: you hide it extremely well, but it's obvious that you like that short blonde chick you always hang around with. It'll come out sooner than later."_

_It's a tempting offer. I could come out without fear of being tormented. However, I would never degrade myself that much. I'd rather take the torture than do something I really hate._

_"No deal."_

_"I had a feeling you would have too much self respect. So, how about this? You join or your friend Fabray is out. She could get a full ride to UCLA right? What would happen if she didn't compete this year or next year? Two years without showing her stuff. That scholarship offer would get snatched right from under her."_

_*end of flashback*_

_Dani's POV_

"Oh my God! That's horrible!"

"I told her she didn't have to do this." Quinn said

"Did you go to the principle?"

"Yeah. But I'm pretty sure she's got something on him. It's ok. I can survive this for two years right?"

"Santana really. I don't want to see you miserable, I can figure something else out."

"No, you're my best friend and I know your family can't afford it."

"Awww look at you being selfless." I teased

"Shut up. I'll have you know that I am very selfless for people that are important to me."

"Soooo. Am I one of those people?"

"You were on your way. And then you decided to start messing with me, so I'll have to rethink my decision." Santana responded smirking at me.

After class, we went our separate ways.

"Don't forget we have a session today. You're last so you don't have to show up until 4."

"Ok, Later Dani."

* * *

"You haven't practiced at all have you? Kyle if you aren't going to put the work in I'm going to have to talk to Jake and Artie about replacing you."

"Oh come on, it's months away I've got time."

"Um no. No you don't. I need this perfect, if you aren't better by Monday we're using your understudy instead of you."

"Are you serious? Chill out, Dani."

"I will not chill out! You're going to be singing MY songs. So you're going to sing them to the best of your ability at ALL times! If you can't handle that tell me right now, because you're wasting everyone's time! All of your cast mates are working hard and so should you. Get it together, or you're out. Now go away, your face is irritating me."

I heard mumbling and then footsteps moving away from me. I was sitting on the bench looking at the floor frustrated.

"I've never seen you angry before." I recognized Santana's voice immediately so I didn't need to look up. "It's extremely cute. A little scary, but also cute."

"It seems like you always show up after someone sings our songs so horribly."

"If you stay on their asses like that I don't think we'll need to worry."

I laughed and finally looked up. I never actually fully saw Santana in her uniform before. It's extremely tight, and extremely short. I can see her legs all the way up above her mid thigh. The shaper of her body is showing, I can't help but notice how nice her chest area is. Finally I look at her face. Her hair is pulled up into a ponytail, when usually it falls down around her face. I feel like I can really see her, she's beautiful.

"I know. I look ridiculous in this thing." She says pulling me out of my thoughts. I laugh nervously

"No. I don't see you as the cheerleading type but you the outfit fit's you well."

"Well that makes me feel a little better."

"Look, I'm really tired of practicing the same thing over and over. Do you mind if we skip? You don't need as much practice as everyone else. You know these songs better than anyone, seeing as you helped write them."

"Fine by me. Do you wanna come to my place and help me with my lines? You can visit cookie." She gave me a smile as she tried to persuade me to spend time with her. Little does she know there's really no need for that. I would have said yes even if there wasn't a particular reason.

* * *

"Cookie!" I yelled out as we walked through the door. The little bundle of joy came bounding towards me and I immediately scooped her up. She's so small and adorable.

"I know you want to play, but she's been trapped in the house all day. Let's let her in the back yard for a while so she can run around and do her doggy business." Santana took her from my arms and walked towards her back door. "You can go to my room, I'll be up in a minute." Santana shouted over her shoulder.

A few minutes later Santana came into the room with two bottles of water. She handed me one of them and walked towards the side of her bed opening the drawer on the nightstand.

"Thanks"

"Yup" she simply stated. "I have to find my script…it's somewhere in here."

I leaned against her desk, trying to stay out of the way as she rummaged all of the compartments in the room.

"Ohh, I know where it is!" the taller girl said to herself. Santana walked over to a corner where a bag was sitting. She bent over to look through all the papers that were in it. She's still wearing her cheer uniform so I'm getting a pretty good look at her backside. Now I can't help but think of what she would look like in her underwear. What it feel like to touch her while she was in her underwear? I can feel my body heating up, but I can't stop all the naughty thoughts running through my mind. Speaking of running, I'd love to run my hands all over her bare skin. I'm completely zoned out now.

"Hey, Dani are you alright?" Santana walks over to me looking concerned. My breathing is deeper and I can practically feel the lust seeping through my skin. She comes even closer now, our bodies inches apart.

"Your face is bright red." She brings her hands up to cup my cheeks. "Oh my god you're burning up, how do you feel? What's wrong?" the girl in front of me asked expectantly. I'm staring at her face, taking in all of her features. We haven't been this close since I kissed her nearly a week ago. My eyes travel down to Santana's lips. What I say next just above a whisper.

"When I kissed you…it wasn't because I was upset." I couldn't help myself anymore as I stood up on my toes and pressed my mouth onto hers. She let a noise escape her throat, letting me know she was shocked but she didn't pull away. I put my hands on the darker girls hips and pulled her in. Santana ran her fingers through my hair and tilted her head to deepen the kiss. As soon as her lips parted I pushed my tongue into her mouth. I moved my hands up the side of her body and rested them around her neck while her arms snaked around my waste and pulled our bodies together. Santana started pulling me with her as she walked backwards, she slowly sat on her bed and crawled backwards. I followed suit never breaking our kiss. I'm straddled on top of her kissing furiously, our once gentle and smooth mouth movements now turned aggressive and sloppy. I pulled away from Santana's lips and immediately latched onto her neck sucking and nibbling harshly earning several moans. The darker girl beneath me moved my head back up to meet her lips and flipped us over. Now she's on top, her body resting between my open legs. Santana placed kisses down my jaw and finally settled on my neck. Mimicking what I did earlier she started sucking and nibbling. I moved my hands down her back, resting on her bum. I roughly massaged to two mounds causing the girl above me to ground her hips into mine and simultaneously bit down hard on my neck. I couldn't help the loud moan that came tumbling from my mouth.

"Hold on, we need to stop." Santana breathed out as she sat up. The last 10 minutes caught up with me and I covered my face in embarrassment.

"Oh God. I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have done that."

"…it's alright." she timidly responded. I sat up and turned to face her.

"No it's not alright. I practically just ate your face! And I wasn't even sure if you wanted to kiss me, I just went for it."

"Well I'm glad you did, because I've been too afraid to."

"Really?"

"Yeah." She laughs nervously. "I've kind of been pathetically drooling after you for a while now."

"You're not pathetic at all. Why couldn't you tell me?"

"I don't know. I was scared….why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't know what you wanted. You're really hard to read. Sometimes I thought you liked me, other times I thought you didn't."

"Sorry about that. I have a hard time expressing my feelings appropriately."

"That's ok…at least I know we're somewhere on the same page with our feelings." I said taking her hand into mine.

"So what does this mean for us?" Santana asked looking into my eyes.


	9. The Chapter With All the Dialogue

**Previously on Pride**  
_Friday  
__Dani's POV_

_She laughs nervously. "I've kind of been pathetically drooling after you for a while now."_

_"You're not pathetic at all. Why couldn't you tell me?"_

_"I don't know. I was scared…. why didn't you tell me?"_

_"I didn't know what you wanted. You're really hard to read. Sometimes I thought you liked me, other times I thought you didn't."_

_"Sorry about that. I have a hard time expressing my feelings appropriately."_

_"That's ok…at least I know we're somewhere on the same page with our feelings." I said taking her hand into mine._

_"So what does this mean for us?" Santana asked looking into my eyes._

* * *

"I don't know…what do you think it means?"

"No, I asked you first."

"Hey, I made the first 2 moves. It's your turn."

"Actually I made the first two moves. I introduced myself and do you not remember the ketchup incident?"

I can't help but laugh at the memory.

"Oh yea I remember the ketchup incident. What was that all about anyway?"

"Well I really wanted to lick it right off of your face. But I thought that might have been a little too forward."

"Yeah, just a little bit. But really, what do want to do?"

Santana looked down and took a deep breath before speaking

"Well…I like doing this." She said as she leaned forward to give me slow kiss. I smiled when she pulled away.

"Me too. So...do you maybe wanna go on a date with me?" I asked nervously; nerves that wouldn't go away because she wouldn't answer. I searched Santana's face trying to figure out what was wrong and I could see she was nervous too and maybe a little worried. And then it clicked.

"Don't worry. I'll take you somewhere no one we know will see us."

"I'm sorry. I'm just not ready for people to know."

"It's alright. Everyone comes out in their own time, and you aren't completely in the closet. Your parents and your best friend know. I can work with that."

"Really?" she smiled

"Mhm" I smiled back to her.

"In that case. Yes. I will go on a date with you."

"You know…you don't come off as a lesbian that's in the closet."

"What do you mean?"

"You hid it well and I couldn't tell before you told me. I mean you hang out with me all the time in public places and you even talk to me at school. Everyone knows I'm gay: closeted people aren't usually seen with other people who are out, for fear of "gay by association"'

"hm" she laid back on her bed as she thought to herself.

"I guess I never really thought about that. Two years ago I think I would have been more careful about who I'm seen around. But I've been accepting myself more, and the most important people in my life know and are perfectly fine with it. I think part of me is still afraid of what other people will think, but a bigger part of me cares about my relationship with you more than anything else."

"That has to be the sweetest thing anyone has ever said to me." I laced our fingers together and pulled her hand up to my lips to give it a soft kiss.

"Oh God. I've gone soft." Santana ran her free hand through her hair and let out a frustrated groan.

"I'll tell you what. I wont tell anyone how soft you've gotten if…." I raised my eyebrows at her.

"If…?" she asked curiously. I simply closed my eyes and pursed my lips out, silently asking for another kiss. I could hear her giggling and feel her moving.

"You're cute" she says before I feel her mouth pressing against mine.

* * *

I left Santana's around 10. When her parents came home they insisted I stay for dinner and then we all watched a movie.

When I got home my dad's car was in the driveway. I sighed to myself and made my way into the house. I don't dislike my dad and we don't have a bad relationship. We love each other and he's always been extremely kind and supporting of me. He's just never here and he feels like a stranger, so when he actually is around it's just awkward. I almost forgot what he looked like. He's tall, 6 foot to be exact which is huge compared to my 5'2. He's bald and pretty thick, not fat just a big guy.

"Hey sweetheart."

"Hi dad, I didn't think you'd be back until Wednesday."

"I got to leave early. I've missed you." He walked over and gave me a quick hug.

"Yeah, me too. How was…India?"

"Yea, it was great! I got a lot of stuff done and managed to have a little fun as well."

"That's good."

"Yeah. I have to go back next month…hey where's Margarita?"

I forgot he's been gone and I haven't talked to him.

"Oh…she kinda died a week ago."

"What?! Dani, why didn't you call me?"

"I don't know. You're a little hard to reach, and I was upset, and…well I don't know. I'm sorry" I was getting frustrated and sad.

"It's alright sweetheart, I guess I understand. So do you want another one?"

"Uh no. I actually have one. One of my friends got her for me, but she stays at her house. I can go see her whenever I want." I smiled thinking about the little ball of fur.

"Ummm. That's a nice thing for a friend to do. A little weird, but whatever. I'm off to bed, I'm exhausted. See you in the morning."

"Goodnight."

After shutting off all the lights in the house I make my way up to my room and flop down on my bed. I pull my phone out of my bag to see if I have any messages. I have one from Santana.

**I'm assuming you made it home safe?**

I forgot she told me to let her know when I made it back.

**_Haha yes. I made it home…are you busy?_**

**Not at all. I'm in my room browsing on tumblr, what's up?**

I didn't bother respond, I just called her. She answered after 2 rings.

_"Hey pretty lady"_

_"Hello there"_

_"So what's going on?"_

_"Kind of awkward actually. My dad's back."_

_"Oh really? I thought he wasn't coming back until the middle of next week."_

_"Yeah me too. But here he is. And I had to tell him about the whole dog situation"_

_"Was he upset?"_

_"Uhhh… actually. I'm not really sure. He asked why I didn't call him, but other than that he just asked if I wanted another dog."_

_"Oh that's odd."_

_"Yeah. And then I told him about Cookie. He didn't seem like he cared either way about it."_

_"Are you…alright?"_

_"Yeah I'm fine. It's just always so awkward when he's home. I never know what to say to him, I barely know the guy."_

_"So what do you guys normally talk about? Surely, you don't just exist in complete silence…"_

_"It's usually along the lines of. 'Hey, Dani' 'Hi dad' 'I missed you' 'uhuh, how was wherever the hell you've been?' 'it was good I got shit done, goodnight'"_

_"He doesn't ask about you?"_

_"No. As long as I keep my GPA at a 3.5 he doesn't say much. I have a 4.6 so he really doesn't say anything."_

_"Wait, how the fuck do you have a 4.6?"_

_"I have all AP honors classes" I laughed_

_"So you're a genius, you can play the piano and the guitar, you write your own music, you can sing, and you're really hot. What other secrets do you have up your sleeve?"_

_"Oh so you think I'm hot?"_

_"Duh, why else would I have agreed to go out with you?"_

We're both laughing now

_"Speaking of going out. I was thinking, maybe tomorrow?"_

_"Yeah that works for me, what time?"_

_"I'll pick you up at 6"_

_"What should I wear?"_

_"Umm. Dress really fancy."_

_"Fancy huh? Where are you taking me?"_

_"Away from your house."_

_"I know that, smart ass. Where specifically?"_

_"A restaurant …" I'm trying to hold back my giggles_

_"Ok fine. I'll be patient, and I'll dress fancy tomorrow."_

_"Good. Now get some sleep, it's like 11 o'clock"_

_"Oh my God, Dani you're such an old lady! It's a Friday!"_

_"Leave me alone! I'm tired"_

_"Ok fine. But I hope you know I can't let this go."_

_"I was afraid of that" I sighed_

_"Alright. Go to sleep, I'll see you tomorrow."_

_"Goodnight Santana"_

_"Goodnight granny Dani"_

I didn't even bother responding, I just hung up.

* * *

_Saturday 11am_

I just woke up. 12 hours of sleep, that's awesome. I make my way to the kitchen to get something to drink. I'm always extremely thirsty when I first wake up.

"Good morning, kiddo."

"Morning."

"What are your plans today?"

"I'll probably play around with some music and I have a date tonight."

"Oh with that girl Jamie?"

"No dad we broke up a long time ago." I said irritated

"Sorry sorry" he held his hands up defensively. "So what's this new girls name?"

"Santana"

"I see. A Latina. They can be quite a feisty breed."

"Breed? Really dad?"

"Come on, Dani you know I don't mean anything by it."

"Can you hold back on the insults then, please?"

"Alright alright. Have fun with your little girlfriend and try to be home by a decent hour. I have a flight at 5 to New York, I'll be gone for 5 days."

"Ok, have fun."

* * *

_Saturday: 5:30pm_

**I'll be at your house at 6 o'clock sharp! Make sure you're ready!**

**_You can't rush me! True beauty takes lots of time and effort ;)_**

**You would look beautiful even if you wore a trash bag as a dress. But our reservation is at 6:30 and if we're late they'll give it to someone else!**

**_Breaking out the flattery already? I'll be ready on time, promise._**

I pulled up to Santana's house at 5:55, I made my way to the door and rang the bell. Her mom answered.

"Hello Dani! You look awfully fancy! What's the occasion?"

"Thanks! Actually…I'm taking Santana on a date."

"Dios mio, it's about time! Come on in!" she practically yanked me into the house before yelling very loudly towards the stairs.

"Santana! Your date is here!"

"I'm not ready yet!" she yelled back down. I looked at my watch.

"It's 5:57! You have 3 minutes to get down here or I'm dragging you out as is!"

I heard her yell something inaudible before her mother started speaking again.

"I'm so glad you girls are finally dating, you always stare at each other. Who asked who? And why did it take so long?"

"I asked her. I wasn't sure how she felt, Santana can be hard to read. So I just decided to go for it, luckily it all worked out pretty well."

"Well I'm happy. Just take care of my daughter and we wont have any problems."

"Ma! Can you not scare my date away please?" Santana said as she made her down the stares. I couldn't help but stare. She looked absolutely stunning; her dress was long, black, strapless, and flowy.

"Wow. You look hot in your cheer outfit, but in that dress you look wayyy hotter" I let the words escape my mouth forgetting the older latina woman standing beside me.

"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that. Have fun girls." Santana's mom waved as she disappeared into another room.

"Are you ready to go? Or do you wanna stand here and tell me how hot I am."

"No, I'm ready." I dropped my gaze to the floor embarrassed at my word vomit. Santana walked over to me and grabbed my hand.

"Ok then, lets go." We made our way outside and I helped her into the passenger side before I got in myself and starting heading for the restaurant.

"For the record, you look "way hotter" too. Blue is a good color on you."

"I can't believe I said that in front of your mom."

"Me either. The look on your face was hilarious once you realized what you said."

"I can't ever show my face at your house again."

"Of course you can, you didn't say anything rude. But my mom is a lot like me, so she'll never let it go."

* * *

"Ok, Dani…This place is fucking amazing! And from the looks of it it's really expensive!" Santana said in awe.

"I heard they have really good food and a wide variety so both of us should be able to find something we like!" I smiled and we opened our menus.

"A very wide variety…but a really high price! I can't afford this, a soda is $5, a side salad is $30, and the cheapest entre is $45 and that's without sides." She sounded concerned.

"Oh then I guess it's a good thing I'm paying isn't it?"

"No, you can't-"

"Stop it. I asked you out and I knew what I was getting into before I brought you here. Get what you want and don't worry about it."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, go crazy."

"Ok. So what's my budget?"

"You are so difficult! I told you to get whatever you want and not to worry about it."

"Don't yell at me, I just don't want to seem greedy."

"And that's very sweet of you, but I promise whatever you order is ok with me."

Santana nodded her head and stuck her head back down in the menu. Shortly after our waiter came by and took our orders. We made small talk and before we knew it our food was at our table. I ordered Salmon and Santana got the Lobster. I told her to order whatever she wanted and she got the most expensive thing they had. Figures.

"So how can a high school student with no job afford…uhh, what's this restaurant called?"

"I don't know, it's something in French I can't pronounce." I said with my mouth full of food.

"Oh Danielle such fantastic manners you have." Santana said sarcastically

"Why thank you" I bowed. Well I bowed as much as I could sitting at a table.

"You never answered the question. How can you afford this?"

"My dad gives me a lot of money. He puts enough in my account to cover the house bills. He's always gone so I take care of everything."

"Exactly how much does he give you?"

"Let's just say I could move into my own apartment if I wanted to."

I heard the clinking of dishes and the sudden sound made me jerk my head up. Santana dropped her fork on her plate, her mouth wide open"

"So, how much do you have in your account right now?"

"You aren't a gold digger are you?"

"Absolutely not. As a good friend of yours I'm simply curious, that's all."

"Mhm sure. Maybe if you're good I'll show you one day. Now let's not talk about my finances, can we change the subject?"

"I'll let it go for now. So how are music rehearsals going?"

I let out a frustrated groan and dropped my head into my hands.

"I'm exhausted just thinking of how horrible some people sound right now. They just need so much work."

"It's only been a week, they'll get better. I wasn't perfect when I was first learning the songs." Santana tried to be reassuring.

"You weren't perfect because you were helping me write them. The only people that sound remotely good is you, that girl Rachel, and a girl named Marley. You know speaking of, why do people name their daughters Marley now? Why is that so popular? It's weird. And usually when I asked why they're named that it's because of Bob Marley, which makes it even weirder. Like why are you named after a man your parents didn't even know?"

Santana is laughing. "What's so funny?"

"You're rambling, and talking so fast I could barely understand what you were saying."

"Sorry. I tend to do that when I'm frustrated."

"It's ok. It's actually really cute. You also start using your hands a lot more too."

We shared a few more laughs and talked about nonsense for a good hour. It's nice learning about each other but it's also nice to be able to just talk about anything.

We're leaving the restaurant and it's only 8. The night is still young and I don't want to be away from my lovely date just yet. I bit the bullet and asked her if she wanted to come back to my place to watch a movie. She gladly accepted. Naturally we ended up making out on my couch. I'll never get tired of her lips: They're soft, smooth, and warm. My hands in her hair, her hands holding onto my waist: gripping at each other trying to get impossibly close. I lean against her pushing her to lay on her back. I'm on top of her, my hands roaming up and down her body still kissing just as roughly as we started. My fingers find the zipper on the side of her dress and I pull it down. I slip my hands underneath the fabric feeling the skin on her stomach. I used my other hand to pull her dress down. Revealing a black strapless bra. I released her lips and trailed kisses down her jaw until I reached her neck. I lightly sucked and nibbled earning a few moans. I felt Santana's body tense up and her hands on my shoulders. I looked up at her and could instantly see the nerves showing on her face.

"What's wrong? Are you ok?"

"I…" her face turned red, so I grabbed her hand and sat her upright.

"Hey, what is it?" she fixed her dress before responding.

"Ok so…I've never…you know…" she raised her eyebrows trying to clue me in on what she was talking about.

"You're a virgin? Awww" I couldn't help the goofy grin that spread across my face.

"Don't make fun of me, it's embarrassing."

"No it isn't. I think it's a good thing. So, you've never done anything? Not even with your ex?"

"No, I was lucky if I even got to kiss her. Kate was very…careful? I don't know, she was just afraid of everything."

"In that case. I think we should have the sex talk."

"Sex talk? Why do I feel like it's about to get incredibly awkward?"

"It doesn't have to be awkward. Just tell me how you feel, and then I'll tell you."

"How I feel? I've never done this before Dani, you've gotta help me out."

"Alright. Umm do you want to wait?"

"I don't know…do you?"

"Not really. But if you want to, I would gladly wait as long as you need. Your first time is a big deal. I want you to really be ready."

"Ok hold on. Before we get into this whole intimacy thing, what are we? Exactly."

"What do you want?"

"No, I asked you first. You can't just pass it off to me." Santana whined.

"I've been taking all the steps. Now it's your turn."

She took a deep breath and looked at me.

"You're right. So you like me?"

I smiled and squeezed her hand. "Yeah, I do. Very much so."

"And I really like you too. Um do you want to b…" whatever she said was so low I couldn't even hear it.

"You're gonna have to repeat that loud enough for humans to hear, Santana."

"girlfriends…" she mumbled.

"I'm sorry what was that?" Now I'm just teasing her

"Oh come on, you know you heard me."

"No I don't believe I did."

"Dani, please don't make me say it again."

"Don't be such a chicken. I can't always be the one to do everything. Come on, just ask me."

She sighed and took a moment to gather her words. Her nervousness is really cute.

"Ok. Dani. Do you want to be my girlfriend?"

"That wasn't so difficult was it?"

"I'll let you know after you answer the question."

I lifted her hand and gave it a soft kiss.

"Yes. I would like to be your girlfriend. But…"

"Uhoh." She said quietly

"But, I need a couple of things from you." I continued, "We're together now, so that means you can't be all difficult with me. If you're having a problem I need you to just tell me instead of avoiding me. I care about you, please know you can trust me. The second thing I need is for you not to change. I wont try to hold your hand or anything at school, but you also aren't allowed to treat me any differently. Can you manage that?"

"Wow. I wasn't expecting all of that."

"Relationships take work. They aren't easy, if we want ours to work we need to be completely open and respectful towards each other from the very beginning."

"You're right. I agree with everything you said. I'll be the best I can as long as you do the same for me."

"Of course I will. So we've established we are together. Now back to our original topic."

"Oh goodness I was hoping you'd forgotten about that." Santana covered her face with her hands.

"How am I supposed to forget when you were half naked 10 minutes ago? Now come on, lets get it over with."

"Alright. I want to wait. I don't know how long, I just… I don't really have a good explanation."

"You want it to feel right. I understand that and I'll wait as long as you want. No pressure."

"You're a fantastic girlfriend."

Santana reached one hand up to cup my cheek and draw me in for a kiss. It got intense, but I made sure to keep it PG-13 so my new girlfriend wouldn't feel uncomfortable.


	10. Valentines Day (Part 1)

**Hey guys! it's been a while. Chapter 10 has 2 parts and it's kind of a valentines day special. This is part 1 and if enough of you guys want, I will post part 2 tonight as well. enjoy!**

* * *

_Thursday  
Dani's POV_

We've been together for almost one week. Everything is absolutely perfect, and why wouldn't it be? This relationship is still new so there shouldn't be any problems. We're cuddled up together on my couch watching a movie…well I'm watching it, Santana fell asleep as soon as she rested her head on my chest. She's been so tired since having to do cheer and the musical. Poor thing is so exhausted. I started playing with the hair hanging from her ponytail. It became one of my favorite things to do: it's almost a subconscious action now. The movie is coming to an end and I have to wake her up. I really don't want to, but she said she had to leave right after. Luckily it's Thursday, so the weekend is almost here and I might get a full day with my lovely girlfriend. I sighed before deciding to wake her up.

"Santana" I whispered while rubbing small circles on her back.

"Santanaaa" I said again slightly louder. This time I got a groan and she clung tighter to me.

"Sweety, the movie's over."

"Noooo. 5 more minutes." She replied sleepily, and I didn't say anything for another 5 minutes. I don't dare deny her anything.

"It's been 5 minutes." I whispered down into her ear. She squirmed some and then said something that sounded like, ok.

"How much of the movie did I miss?"

"Uhh lets see. You missed the character development, the plot, the plot twist, the conclusion, and the credits."

"Oh that's all?!" we both laughed softly.

"Yeah, that's about it."

"Sorry I feel asleep on you, you're really comfortable"

"Thanks I guess." I started playing with her hair again and she finally got up allowing both of us to sit up straight side-by-side.

"I'm never taking you out to the movies, you always sleep through them."

"Don't blame me! I have cheer practice every day, the play, and on top of that I have to keep up with school and you!" she sounded frustrated

"Hey! No need to get upset, I was just joking. I know you're tired. And what do you mean you _have _to keep up with me?!"

"Sorry, I'm just on edge. What I meant was that even though I have all of these things going on, I still want to make time for you. I _have_ to because I want to."

"Okay. I get it." I don't want her to get upset again. Santana took my hand forcing me to look at her.

"I didn't mean to raise my voice at you. I really am sorry. Forgive me? Pleaseeee?" She gave me puppy dog eyes, and I couldn't help but smile at her.

"Ok, I forgive you."

"Thank you." She leaned over and kissed me on the cheek and stood up.

"Are you leaving?"

"Yeah, I have a few things to do and I want to go to bed early tonight."

"Have I mentioned how good you look in that uniform?"

"Are you trying to use compliments to get me to stay longer?"

"I would never do such a thing!"

"Yeah sure." She bent down so she was just in front of my face. "I'm gonna go." She gave me a soft peck and started backing away towards the door.

"No, please." I grabbed onto Santana's wrist and pulled her back down for another kiss.

"Maybe 10 more minutes"

"Mhm" I pulled her onto my lap never breaking our kiss

"Or maybe 20" Santana straddled me, wrapping her arms around my neck.

We were lost in our sloppy assault, something I will never get enough of. I think my favorite part about her is how good she always smells and how warm she is.

"DADDY'S HOME!"

We pull apart immediately searching for the source of the voice. Finally my eyes land on my dad.

"Christ, dad. You scared the crap out of me!"

"Well maybe you would have heard me open and close the door if you didn't have your tongue down this girls throat"

"I sh-should go. Uh go home." Santana stood up and frantically looked around for her things. A bright blush covering her cheeks. As bright a blush as possible with her dark skin tone.

"You don't have to go." I insisted

"Yeah, don't leave because of lil ole me!" My dad agreed. "You can stay for dinner, I ordered takeout. Dani, aren't you going to introduce us?"

"Oh right. Santana this is my dad, dad this is my girlfriend Santana."

"It's nice to meet you Mr. Hansen." Santana choked out. My dad laughed at how formal she was.

"Please call me Derek. I'm only Mr. Hansen when I'm doing business."

"Uh ok…Derek."

"Hey there's no need to feel awkward. You aren't the first person I've caught Dani making out with."

"Dad!" I yelled. I'm thankful that he isn't too uptight but sometimes I wish he were a little more conservative.

"What? It's true!" He raised his hands defensively

"So I'm not the first aye?" Santana raised her eyebrows curiously

"It was only once before!" I shot back.

"Yeah that's true. I'm glad I didn't catch you with all your other girlfriends." My dad said smugly. At this point he's just trying to get me in trouble.

"All? How many are we talking, Dani?" Santana laughed

"Didn't you say you had stuff to do?"

"Are you trying to get rid of me? 5 minutes ago you were begging me to stay."

"No I..I just-he-.." I let out a big sigh and put my hands over my face.

"I'm just teasing you, and yes I do have stuff to do. I'm gonna go home."

"We were just starting to have fun! Come on, Santana stick around we can mess with Dani some more"

"That sounds like worlds of fun but I really do have work to do. How about a rain check?"

"I'm holding you to that!"

I walked Santana to the door thankful to be out of that situation.

"I'm sorry, that was so weird." I sighed

"It's alright. Your dad is pretty cool, he actually made me feel more comfortable."

"I guess that's good."

"So tomorrow why don't you come to my place after school? I have my first cheerleading thing at some school in the valley, so I wont see you the first part of the day."

"Awww ok." I pouted. "I'll see you tomorrow then." I put my arms around her neck and gave her a quick peck on the lips before pulling her into a hug


	11. Valentines Day (Part 2)

_Friday 3pm_

I haven't seen my girlfriend all day except for our first period, but we couldn't really talk then. Santana's taking on so much and I expected to not be able to see her as much but I didn't expect to need her so much. Sure I still have my friends to keep me company but I'm always a little sad when I'm not with my girl. Luckily the school day is over and I'll be able to see her soon.

**Hey gorgeous. Just got out of my last class, still want me to come over?**

**_Yes! Get your ass over here! _**

**Ok, I'll be there in 10 ;) **

**_Hurry please! I miss you._**

In less than 10 minutes I'm ringing the doorbell and in no time the door flies open and I'm greeted by a very happy looking girlfriend, who is still wearing her uniform. She stepped to the side to let me in the house.

"Do you wear that thing all the time just because I like it?" i gestured to Santana's uniform.

"Maybe…do I have to wait forever to get my kiss?"

"Of course not." I moved in to give her a proper 5 minute long greeting.

"Let's go upstairs." Santana grabbed my hand and led me up the steps to her room. I voted on not watching a movie because I didn't want to risk her falling asleep. So we both decided it was a great time to catch up on each others lives since we hadn't seen each other. We're laying down, and I start playing with her hair like I always do. She's told me about her crazy adventures cheering, and she's actually enjoying it more than she thought. Quinn keeps her company and she's made friends with some of the other girls on the squad. I told her about some of the songs I've been writing and how I've been trying to get better on guitar. I really want to broaden my musical horizons.

"So, you know we have to talk about what your dad said yesterday right?" Santana suddenly blurted out

"I was afraid of that."

"So how much…experience have you had?"

"Does it really matter?" I'm trying to avoid the question.

"Yes it matters. I'm not judging you, I just need to know."

"If you're sure."

"I'm sure. Now spill it. I need to know all about you."

"Alright. So, I've had 6 girlfriends all together…I think."

"Six? How many did you sleep with?"

"Straight to the point I see. I've slept with 3 of them, and then there was another girl that was a one night stand."

"Oh…ok."

"See, I knew I shouldn't have told you. None of those girls are in my life anymore you don't have to worry about them."

"I'm not worried about them…"

"What is it then?" I asked taking her hand

"You're so experienced. You've had more than one relationship and they were probably normal unlike the one I had. You've also done…other intimate things. And then there's me. I have no idea what I'm doing."

"It isn't about how many people I've been with. Each experience was different with each person. What I have with you is different than anything I've had with anyone else. So to be completely honest I don't know what I'm doing either." I got her to smile.

"You know sometimes I forget that I'm older than you. You always know exactly what to say."

"I'm glad you feel that way. Now lets talk about something less…serious."

"Sounds good to me. What did you have in mind?"

"I always like learning about you. How about…favorite and least favorite holidays?"

"Ok. My favorite is Thanksgiving. Every kind of food and dessert you can think of all on the same table, and there's enough for 8 servings."

"Oh goodness, I should have guessed that." I laughed. "Ok, now least favorite."

"Least favorite…valentines day."

"What?! How could you not like valentines day?"

"Easy. I've never really had a good one. And it's just a day that lets all the lonely people know that they are in fact lonely. People post on facebook and instagram about all of their love-capades and it's just all in your face. I just don't like it…at all So tell me yours."

She hates my favorite holiday. Well it isn't a real holiday, but the concept of it is beautiful.

"Hellooo. Dani. What are you thinking about?"

"Oh sorry. I gotta go." I stood up and put my shoes on.

"Are you mad just because I don't like valentines day?"

"Oh no, of course not. That would be silly."

"Then why do you suddenly have to go?"

"I'll tell you later. Don't make plans for tomorrow, ok?" I walked over to Santana and placed a thousand kisses all over her face and walked out the door before she could say anything.

_Saturday  
Santana's POV_

**Dani, can you tell me what's going on?**

**_Nope. _**

**Can you at least give me more than one-word answers? **

**_Yes I can _**

**What am I supposed to do all day?**

**_No_**

**What does that even mean? Maybe I'll just come to your house **

**_You could do that but I'm not home so you'd just be stuck outside. _**

**You're freaking me out. Please, tell me what's happening. Are we okay?**

**_Lol calm down. We're perfect. I'll pick you up from your house at 5, dress casual. _**

**That still doesn't explain anything. **

**_Just be ready at 5. _**

**Ok. I wont ask you about what you're doing anymore, but can I least just text you to pass the time. I'm bored.**

**_Haha that's fine with me._**

Ok….Casual. So jeans obviously but what kind of shirt? But what color jeans? Not black because Dani always wears black. Blue it is.

**What kind of shirt should I wear?**

**_A regular t-shirt is fine I guess. _**

Blue jeans, and I don't really own t-shirts. I have a black spaghetti strap tank top. This will have to do.

I hopped in the shower to get ready. It always takes me a long time, and I don't even know what's going on so I'll take extra long. Before I'm even fully dressed my doorbell rings. I hastily threw my shirt over my head, ran down the stairs, and opened the door.

"Hi" I say out of breath

"Um hi….you know you aren't wearing any pants right?" she laughs

"ha, oh this is embarrassing. I didn't have enough time to get ready, and I was rushing…come in, I'll be down in 5."

I ran back up the stairs into my room to finish putting my clothes on. I'm glad I like wearing boy shorts and not thongs. That would have been really awkward.

"Ok, I'm fully clothed now."

"How did you not have enough time to get ready? I told you what time I was coming 8 hours in advance."

"I don't know, I just didn't give myself enough time. So what are we doing?"

Dani walked over to me and pulled a rose from behind her back. "Happy valentines day."

"What?" I said, while taking the rose tentatively.

"Today, is going to be our first valentines day together."

"Dani, it's the middle of November."

"So?"

"Ok…thanks for the rose?"

"You're welcome. Now lets go." She said lacing her fingers with mine and pulling me out the door. We got into her car and she started driving.

"Why are we having valentines day today?" I asked, breaking the silence

"Because it's your least favorite holiday, and I want you to know what it feels like when you're celebrating this day correctly."

"Ok, you're getting on the freeway. Where are we going?"

"We're going to see a movie…"

"There's a theatre 5 minutes from my house."

"Yeah. But the movie we're seeing isn't playing there. Only at this special theatre."

I decided to let it go. Clearly Dani wont be telling me anything about what we're doing tonight. I just turned up the music and we sang along to the radio until we got to our destination. When we pulled into the parking lot I saw a really small building. I looked at the board above the entrance that showed what movies were playing.

"Are you serious? How did you know I wanted to see this?"

"You told me…"

"Yeah, but I didn't think you cared when I talked about anime."

"I care about everything you say, silly." She laughed. We're seeing the new DragonBall Z movie. It came our over the summer in Japan and I've been dying to see it. Especially since there hasn't been anything new in years.

"You're the best! Seriously. Thank you." I gave my girlfriend a hug when we got out of the car.

"You're welcome, now come on I know you want snacks."

The movie was good. If you know anything about DragonBall Z it was the typical storyline. I still loved every minute of it though.

"So what did you think?" I asked Dani. We're in her car on our way back to our side of town.

"Uhhh. I don't know. I was pretty confused. I had to read subtitles and try to watch at the same time. How do you do that?"

"You get used to it. You learn how to read from your peripheral vision and fully watch all the action over time. Thanks again for taking me. Today was fun."

"You're welcome and today isn't over yet."

"It isn't?"

"Nope." She reaches towards the back seat of her car.

"What are you looking for?"

"This." She pulls her arm back and hands me a basket. It has all my favorite candy in it.

"I would have gotten you a box of chocolate and those sweetheart things with the writing on them but it's November and they aren't selling them right now."

I couldn't help but laugh. "Thanks, I've always wanted a giant stash of candy."

"I hope you know you're sharing with me."

"Oh is that how it works? I have to share the gifts you give me?"

"Yes, that's exactly how it works."

We laughed and spent the rest of the car ride making small talk. We went to her house and she sent me to her back yard. There was a large blanket on the grass and music playing from a medium sized radio.

"I made us dinner." Dani said, coming outside with a plate that was covered with a giant bowl.

"Really?"

"Yup. I didn't have one of those fancy things they have in restaurants that cover the food so I just used a bowl."

"That's ok. I like your way better anyway."

"I know. I'm fancy…Dinner is served." She pulled bowl off the plate and I immediately started laughing.

"Oh Dani, this meal is so gourmet!"

"2 of my finest PB&J's. Eat up!"

"This is the best I've ever had." I said after taking my first bite.

"I knew it would be…oh! I almost forgot. I have a gift for you."

"Ok no. You need to stop giving me things."

"You'll like it, I promise!" Dani said as she got up and ran into her house. I decided to keep eating until she came back.

"Ok. Open this one first." I looked up and there were 4 separate items in Christmas wrapping paper.

"Are we switching to Christmas now?"

"It's all I could find. Now open!" she shoved the first gift in my face.

"Alright." I unwrapped the soft package. It was a shirt with a picture of a box of French fries on it. To anyone else it wouldn't make sense, but for us it's special. The first month we knew each other all we did was eat fries and talk. It's kind of our foundation.

"Oh my god. This is absolutely perfect. I'm going to wear it all the time."

"I thought you'd like it. Ok, now second gift. I'll open it for you."

"Uh..ok." I sat and watched her unwrap the awkwardly shaped gift. It was a bundle of about 6 red roses.

"More flowers? They're beautiful."

"Yes more. I only gave you one earlier."

"You know no one's ever given me flowers before."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah."

"I'll have to change that then…Now open your other gifts."

Dani gave me another bunch of roses. This time it was 5 of them. So all together today she's given me a dozen roses. The second thing she gave me was a hand written 'coupon book.' There were numerous certificates for free hugs, kisses, and cuddle sessions. I could use those as many times as I wanted and they never expired. There was one other coupon for a free massage, but that one I could only use once so I have to think carefully about when.

"Do you like your gifts?"

"Yes, I absolutely love them." I leaned forward and gave her soft kiss.

"Dance with me?" Dani whispered.

"Dance with you?...Here?"

"Yes." She got up and walked over to where the music was playing and turned it up. It was a slow romantic song. One I'd never heard before.

"Come on." She extended her hand to help me up. We started moving to the music, awkwardly at first. Once we got more comfortable we pressed our bodies closer together. Her hands were snaked around my neck and mine were around her waist.

"So…how was your first valentines day?"

"It was nice. But it still isn't valentines day." I rested my head on top of Dani's as we continued to sway

"That isn't the point. It's a day to enjoy the person you're with. It doesn't matter if it's February 14th or November or July. Every day is a day to enjoy your significant other, but valentines day is nice because that's when they sell the good chocolate and the best flowers. But the best part is the week after when everything is on sale."

"I still don't know how I feel about it. But I know I'll enjoy it with you, so you can't go anywhere ok?"

"I wont as long as you don't either."

"I'd never leave you. I promise.


	12. Kate

_One month later.  
Dani's POV_

"Santana, we have to go! We're going to be late!"

"I know, D. Give me a second."

"Alright hurry up. I'll be in the car!"

It's a week before Christmas. It's time for the play. Months of tireless piano playing, listening to screechy voices turn angelic, setting up props, watching messed up dance steps turn into one fluid motion, and running lines with everyone. All of it came down to this, weeks of nonstop work compacted into 3 showings.

"Hey, sorry I had to blow dry my hair." Santana said as she entered the passenger seat of my car.

"It's ok. It's 4:45 and we don't have to be there until 5."

"I'm so nervous!"

"Don't be. You're gonna kill it, babe."

And she did. The first night was a success. A couple of lines were messed up but if you'd never seen the script before you wouldn't be able to tell. The second night was even better. Any hint of nerves the cast had the previous night was completely gone and you could tell they enjoyed themselves. The last night, Saturday, we were all a little sad. After spending all of our free time together, we've bonded and would truly miss each other's company. The entire cast is singing their last song together and the crowd is on their feet. I'm sitting at the piano facing everyone and I can recognize some people in the audience from the night before. It makes me happy that people are enjoying my music.

The curtains closed and reopened to the cast members holding hands, they took a few bows. The curtains closed again and it opened again with all of us 'behind the scenes' people. They announced every one of our names and our title. Each of us individually stepping forward and bowing. A few of us want to get together to celebrate the end of a great first half of the semester. Since my dad isn't home, as usual, everyone's coming to my house.

I finally made it out of the auditorium, people keep stopping us to tell us how great of a job we did. Santana was the lead, so she got the most praise. I was walking down the hallway and I see my girlfriend talking to a tall blonde girl.

"Hey, I'll be in the car." I say to her in passing. I hear an 'ok' from her and continue to exit the building. I'm waiting for about 10 minutes before Santana finally gets to the car.

"Sorry, people kept stopping me."

"It's ok. I understand." I respond pulling out of the parking lot. "I can't believe it's over. We spent so much time working towards this, and it was perfect."

"Yeah."

"Are you ok?" I asked. "You're uncharacteristically quiet."

Silence

"Santana" I tap her on the leg.

"Huh?" She shakes her head of whatever thoughts she was lost in.

"Baby, what's wrong? You're acting weird."

"Nothing." She replied dryly

"I know you. It's not nothing, now please tell me what's going on."

She took a moment to collect her thoughts.

"Ok…so you know that girl I was talking to when you walked by me?"

"Umm. The blonde one? Yeah, but I didn't get a good look at her."

"That was Kate."

"Kate…as in your ex-girlfriend Kate?"

"Yeah…"

"What does she want? Does she want you back?"

"No…well I don't think so."

"Do-do you want her back?" I asked a little worried. Santana immediately grabbed my free hand.

"No, absolutely not. I'm more than happy with you."

"Then what's bothering you?"

"It's just so strange…seeing her." I gave her hand a reassuring squeeze.

"She consumed my life for so long, and not in the best way. I spent most of my time knowing her, making sure no one knew that we knew each other. I think we were committed to that task more than our relationship itself. You know when she was talking to me, out of habit I looked around to make sure no one was paying attention to us."

"What did she say?"

"Well seeing her was such a shock, I didn't even hear her talking at first. She said I did a good job and she was happy that I finally had the courage to go on stage."

"Finally?" I asked.

"Uh yeah. I've always liked the idea of performing but I was always too afraid. Kate was the first person I danced and sang for."

"Oh…did she say anything else?"

"She said it was good to see me. I don't think I said anything to her but 'yeah' and 'bye'. Sorry I'm so out of it."

"Don't worry about it. I get it. Now lets go have fun with our friends." I said as I pulled into the driveway of my house.

7 people came over: Alex, Finn, Kurt, Quinn, Rachel, Jake, and Artie. We decided against drinking. Most of them had to go to church with their parents the next day, and showing up hung over wouldn't be the best idea. We played a few games, sang, danced, and ordered pizza. Everyone left by midnight except for Santana.

"Do you…wanna stay tonight?" I asked tentatively. Her eyes widened and a look of panic took over her face.

"Don't worry, I meant just to sleep. Nothing else." I clarified.

"Oh." Santana let out sigh of relief. "Yeah, I'll stay."

"Ok. Lets go to bed." I took her hand and led her to my room.

"Do you have anything I can sleep in? Jeans aren't exactly comfortable sleep attire."

I giggled at her statement, before going to my drawers and throwing her some shorts and a shirt.

"Thanks."

"Yup."

I ripped off my shirt and pants. Usually I just sleep in my underwear, but my girlfriend might feel uncomfortable. Before I move back to my dresser I catch Santana staring.

"Hi." I wave my hand in front of your face. "You're staring."

"Oh. Uh, sorry. I'm just- I'll." She stumbled over her words and headed towards the bathroom.

When she came back I was already in bed, I moved the covers back and patted the empty space next to me. She smiled and came over. We're laying face to face, our noses almost touching.

"Can you still drive me to the airport tomorrow?" I asked breaking the silence.

"Yeah. I hate you have to leave for Christmas."

"Me too. But my dad has to work, and he wants me with him for the holiday."

"I know. I'm really gonna miss you. This will be the most time we've spent apart since we met."

"I'll miss you too." I said as I moved in to give her a kiss.

_Sunday  
Santana's POV_

"So my flight is at 3 and it's 11:30 now. Do you want to get lunch somewhere and then drop me off?"

"Yeah that sounds good." I said as I finished getting dressed.

Dani had already taken a shower and got ready at her house. We stopped at mine so I could do the same.

"So what place were you thinking?" I said walking out of my bathroom.

"Uhhh. I really want breakfast food."

"Ok. iHop it is."

We both spent the next couple of hours a little more silent than usual. I'm sad she has to go.

"I'll be back on the 28th." She said as she leaned over to give me a hug.

"That's a whole week."

"I know. We can talk on the phone and skype."

I pulled out of the hug, grabbed both sides of her face and kissed her.

"I have to go. You know how crazy LAX can be, it could take me an hour to get through security." Dani rested her forehead against mine.

"Alright. Call me when you get there ok?"

"I will. And I want you to use my car while I'm gone."

"What? No, I can walk."

"Santana, I don't like you walking around by yourself, especially at night. I'll feel better if I know you're safe."

"Fine. I'll use it."

"Good. Here's some money for gas." She slipped some money in my purse. I was going to protest but I know Dani. When she wants to give me something she wont take no for an answer. I'll give it back to her when I see her again.

"I'll see you in a week." She gave me one last hug and kiss before she made her way into the airport.

It took me forever to get out of the airport. Being here in the middle of the day was the worst possible time. I finally got home and I just wanted to sleep. I walked up the steps to my front door and took my keys out.

"Hi Santana."

I whipped my head to the right.

"Kate?"


	13. Letting Go

"Hi Santana."

"Kate? What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to talk to you"

"I don't think that's such a good idea…"

"Please, just hear me out?"

"Ok." I said walking over to sit in the chair across from her. "What do you want?" My tone was sharp and a little cold, but I felt it was needed for this situation.

"I just wanted to say I'm sorry. I've had a lot of time to think and I realized I never once treated you well. And you were so good to me all the time, you deserved more than that. You deserve someone that will treat you right."

"Oh…thanks I guess. I have actually. I have a girlfriend, and she's pretty perfect. I don't know what I would do without her." I couldn't help the smile forming on my face thinking about Dani.

"I'm so happy for you. I'm glad you've found someone, this girl sounds special."

"She is." I paused contemplating my next question. Why not?

"If you thought I was so good to you why did you break up with me?"

"Because I loved you" She answered quickly. "I realize that it's weird for me to say that after all this time, but it's true. I loved you and I could tell I was holding you back. Like I said, I never treated you the way I should have. I was too much of a coward to be with you. Apparently, it's a good thing. You seem to be really happy with this new girl."

"So what about you? Have you found anyone?" I ask, unable to respond to the first part of her statement.

"Um no. I did talk to a girl the summer after we broke up. She helped me come out of my shell a little and realize it was ok to be me. Our friendship was very short lived but I needed it."

"That's good. You seem…less stressed out." My words are sincere. Kate wasn't the best girlfriend but she isn't a bad person, and I know she struggled with herself a lot.

"I'm not as paranoid about hiding myself. I mean I haven't come out yet but I'm not closed off to the idea of it anymore. What about you?"

"Quinn knows, my parents know, and my girlfriends two best friends know. Other than that, I'm still in hiding." I let out a nervous laugh.

"Quinn knows?"

"Yes she knows. She's my best friend. That means she knows about you too."

"Oh…how long?" Kate asked a bit worried.

"I told her after you broke up with me. I was pretty depressed and there was no way I could hide it. However, I think she's always known. She didn't seem phased at all when I said I was dating you."

Kate's eyes flew open in shock. "Do you think she told anyone? How am I going to explain this?"

"Are you serious?" I couldn't help the anger rising up in me. "You know what, you should just go."

"Why? What's wrong?"

"Kate." I say standing out of my chair. "You come over here to apologize for the way you treated me, and to tell me you're less paranoid and more open to the idea of coming out. The second I tell you Quinn knows you go straight to the defensive and we're right back to where we were a year ago."

"Wait I'm sorry, please don't be mad." She pleaded. "I'm still working on it. It's hard for me."

I sighed. "I'm not mad at you. I'm glad you're working on yourself, have a good life." I said as I walked into my house.

_6 hours later_

'Hello' I answered my phone after two rings

'Hey, babe. I'm sitting in my hotel room. Thought it would be easier to just call you when I was settled in'

'Ok, that's fine. How was your flight?'

'I don't really know actually. I slept most of the way. What have you been up to?'

'I was just sl-" I was going to say that I've been asleep since I got home but I remembered the visit I got from Kate.

"Santana? What happened?"

"Uhhh…Kate ca-"

"What?! What the hell did she want? Do I have to kick her ass?"

I laughed at how defensive she was getting. "No, Dani. No ass kicking is needed. I'm actually glad she stopped by." I said reflecting on my earlier conversation.

"Are you going to tell me why? Or do I have to guess?"

"It was like the closure I never got. When she broke it off, it was short with no explanations. I always thought I had done something wrong. But now I know it wasn't me. She was letting me go, she was letting me go because she loved me." I felt the tension I had been holding in my heart ease away as I said the words allowed.

"All this time, I thought she didn't feel the same way about me. Now I know she did."

"So…what does this mean?" Dani asked.

"It means that I don't have anything left of her inside myself to hold on to. It means that my heart is 100% mine again, and I can give it to anyone I please. And I choose to give it to you."

"Well…what does that mean?"

"It means I'll never want anyone else in this life as much as you."

I hear Dani giggle on the other end of the phone.

"You're such a softie!" She continues to giggle.

"Ok. I pour my heart and soul out to you and you laugh in my face. I see how it is."

"I'm sorry, it's just weird."

"Why? Did I word it wrong? I just kind of said it, I didn't go over it in my head or anything."

"It's weird because no ones ever said anything like that to me before."

"Oh…I guess it's a little strange to me too. I've never said anything like that."

"Santana. I am honored that you have chosen me to hold your heart. Is that better?"

"I guess so. I'm still mad at you for laughing! You'll have to make it up to me." I said sarcastically.

"Oh really? What did you have in mind?" She says intrigued.

"I think you have to cook me dinner. And the food has to be hot, not sandwiches and no fries."

"Hey, fries are hot." Dani protests

"Yeah, but we eat those all the time! No French fries!"

After bantering back and forth for a while we end the call and promise to talk to each other the next day.

The days leading up to Christmas are surprisingly fast. I spent a lot of time with Quinn. I hadn't realized how much I've been neglecting our friendship since Dani and I got together. Sure we see each other at cheer practice, but we don't really have time to talk while we're flying through the air. I've really missed her.

It's Christmas day. When I woke up I sent a mass text that said 'Merry Christmas' to almost everyone in my contact list. I personalized the ones to my girlfriend, Quinn, Rachel, and a few family members. At 6 I went up to my room and locked the door. Dani and I had a Christmas date over skype. We both agreed not to give presents, but I got her one anyway. It's a black infinity scarf with white guitars printed on it. I have a strong feeling she got me something too, so she can't get mad. Even if she didn't get me anything, she'll get over it.

After another 3 dreadful days it's finally the 28th. Dani finally comes back, but I don't have to pick her up until 8 tonight. She's spending her last day with her dad so she wont be able to talk until right before her flight. It's only 12 right now.

_Normal POV_

"Hey mom?" Santana says making her way into the living room.

"Yeah?"

"I'm hungry, what are we having for lunch?"

"I ordered a pizza, it should be here soon."

"Oh sweet. What kind did you get?"

"I got vegetarian for myself, and pepperoni for you."

"Ah, yes. Thanks, you know me so well."

"I'm your mother, of course I know you. So how's Dani?"

"She's good. She comes back tonight." Santana says excitedly

"Oh good. I'm tired of you moping around." Maribel says sounding annoyed.

"I do not mope!"

"Sweetheart, you're a little pathetic. You act like all the life has been sucked out of you."

"Ok, so I miss her. But I think you're exaggerating." As if on queue, the doorbell rings.

"No, I'm not. Go get the pizza, my wallet is on the table by the door already."

"Fine, but we aren't done talking about this."

Santana swung the door open and absentmindedly handed a 20 to the person standing on the other side of the door. She was still trying to argue with her mom from the front door.

"You know, this is a nice gesture but it's going to cost you a little more to get a kiss out of me."

She whipped her head around and started yelling. "Look I don't know who you think you are, bu-" Santana froze when her eyes locked with the woman's standing on the other side of the door.


	14. Happy New Year

"You know, this is a nice gesture but it's going to cost you a little more to get a kiss out of me." She whipped her head around at the familiar voice and squealed in excitement.

"Dani!" The latina immediately pulled her into her arms and kissed her with everything she had, refusing to let go. She closed the door and pushed her against it, continuing the assault on her lips. 'God I've missed doing this' she thought to herself. Santana I pushed her body into Dani's as her hands slid up the taller girls sides and tangled into her hair.

"Ooookay! That's enough, girls!" They were interrupted by the older latina woman. Santana groaned and reluctantly pulled away.

"Sorry mom." Dani says while she grabs ahold of one her girlfriend's free hands. Dani's been around so often both of Santana's parents insisted that she call them mom and dad. Santana finds it kind of weird, but loves that they accept her so much.

"It's alright. Just try to keep it PG-13 ok? Now come give me a hug." After greeting 'mom' with a hug, Dani settled into the living room with her second family and told the tales of her trip. She went to Hawaii, a strange place for her father to be doing business but it provided a good place to be on vacation. Dani stayed in an expensive hotel that had a gym, spa, pool, massages, and multiple restaurants all of which could be ordered for room service. So even though her dad was gone most of the time she still had the hotel and all of Hawaii to keep her occupied. It was a great vacation overall.

* * *

On New Years Eve Dani went to Santana's to make her the dinner she owed. Santana's parents had an office party to go to. Her dad is in the running for a promotion so he had to go to 'schmooze' up to the boss.

"Ok babe are you ready?" Dani said walking into Santana's room with a plate and giant bowl over it. This scene reminded them of their first Valentines day together, their valentines day in the middle of November.

"I'm nervous. I've never actually seen you cook before."

"I think you'll be pleased with my meal selection." The blonde responded while she pulled the bowl off of the plate. "Clam Chowder and teeny tiny little crackers!" Santana started laughing. She couldn't help it. Her girlfriend didn't know how to cook, but she still tried to be romantic with food.

"It looks fantastic, Dani. Another one of your 5 star dishes!"

"Don't I know it!"

Both girls shared the bowl of soup and crackers. It didn't take long to finish.

"I only get the quality-canned products, just for you. This whole meal cost me 4 whole dollars!"

"I'll never be able to repay you!" Santana said as she dramatically placed her hand over her chest. This earned a laugh from Dani.

"Let's watch the new years eve show!"

"Alright."

Watching the show turned into cuddling incredibly close, and stealing a few kisses here and there. 5 minutes to midnight and it's a full make out session. Santana is on top of Dani, hands roaming over every inch of her curvy body. She's still careful not to touch any sensitive parts. Dani rolls them over so she's on top.

"Hold on" she says, and then starts counting. "10, 9, 8." Santana smiling as she watches her girlfriend count down the seconds until the New Year. "7, 6, 5." She bites her bottom lip in excitement. "3, 2, 1." The blonde leans down to press a lingering peck to the darker girls lips. "Happy New year, baby" she says as she pulls away.

Santana gazed into the eyes of the girl straddled above her; there was something in the way that Dani looked into Santana's eyes that made her heart melt. They'd been in positions similar to this before, but this felt different. It felt…right. Leaning up to close the gap between them Santana found the courage to say the words that had been on the tip of her tongue for some time now. "I want you". Dani's eyes widened at the sudden declaration that left her girlfriends lips. Santana wanted her, now, Dani felt her throat go dry just thinking about it. Sure she had been with people before, but she didn't feel for them a fraction for what she felt for Santana.

"We don't have to, San. We can wa-"

Santana interrupted, taking Dani's hands in her own and entwining their fingers together. "No, I don't want to wait. I want this, Dani. I want you. Stay with me tonight?"Dani pulled Santana into a sitting position and wrapped her arms lovingly around her neck.

"If at any point you want me to stop, tell me okay? Promise?" Santana nodded her head, a small grin appearing on her face as she leaned in and attached her lips to her girlfriends. Gently pushing the darker girl back onto the bed, Dani let her hands roam over the body below her. Tracing light circles on the girls collarbone until she eventually met the bottom of Santana's shirt, her fingers itching to go further. The blonde's hands made their way underneath the flimsy fabric, running across her girlfriend's extremely toned abs.

"Can I take this off?" Dani asked, a slight hint of nervousness evident in her voice.

Santana slowly nodded her head, sitting up just enough allowing Dani to remove her tank top. She gasped when the cold air hit her skin, but it was quickly forgotten when a set of lips furiously attacked her neck. Letting out an involuntary moan, she arched her back as Dani nibbled and licked her way down the sensitive flesh exposed to her. Dani sat up straight to remove her own shirt before attaching her lips back to the skin she loved so much, kissing her way down to the tops of Santana's breasts. Making a bold move, her fingers glided to the front clasp of the lacy red bra and unhooked it. Just before removing it completely Dani gazed down at her girlfriend to look for any uncertainty, to make sure she was still 100% comfortable with what was happening. When Santana smiled and nodded her head 'yes', Dani finished removing the article of clothing and tossed it to the floor to be dealt with in the morning. Santana had always been confidant in her body, but in this moment with her girlfriend's eyes ogling down on her she'd never felt more vulnerable. In an attempt to lose the vulnerability she was feeling, Santana moved her hands to the front of Dani's jeans and swiftly unbuttoned them.

'Can you…take these off?' she asked, her voice just above a whisper. Dani stood off the bed and happily removed her pants, leaving her in just her underwear. The blonde made her way back on the bed and repositioned herself, once again straddling the taller girl. Santana hooked her finger in the front of Dani's bra and pulled her down for a bruising kiss. Dani slid her hands up Santana's body and let them lightly ghost over her breasts before taking them each in her hands, giving them a light squeeze. Santana moaned at the feeling and arched her back up searching for more contact; the sensation driving her crazy. Detaching their lips, the blonde dipped her head down to place open mouth kisses over the breasts still in her palms. Dani had to remind herself to take it slow and be gentle with Santana even though all she wanted to do was ravish her right there and then. This had to be special; Santana was special and deserved to feel loved. They had been waiting for this moment for months. Dani wrapped her lips around Santana's nipple and lightly sucked while swirling her tongue around.

"That feels so good." Santana moaned as she tangled her fingers in her girlfriend's hair.

The blonde moved to give the same attention to Santana's other breast before placing kisses from her ribs down her stomach to her hipbones. Dani hooked her fingers in Santana's shorts and looked up at her for permission. The darker girl nodded her head yes and lifted her hips off the bed to help slide the last two articles of clothing from her body, leaving her completely naked. Dani crawled her way back up to give her girlfriend a kiss, her left hand smoothing down the taller girls body and settling on her hip.

"Are you absolutely sure you want to do this?" she asked as she pulled her lips away.

"I've never been more sure of anything. Take me, I'm all yours." Dani smiled at her words and leaned down to capture the darker girls lips in a lingering kiss. She moved her hand down to Santana's inner thigh and started rubbing light circles. Finally the shorter girl ran two fingers up and down Santana's slick folds and then put her hand back on her thigh. Santana shuddered at Dani's touch, she was so close yet so far from her core, and she was aching for release.

"Dani please." The latina moaned. She wasn't one to beg, but right now she would do whatever she could to get what she needed.

"Please what, babe?" Dani smirked and continued slowly gliding her fingers up. She wanted to give Santana what she needed but it also didn't hurt to tease her a little.

"Please, don't tease me." She begged again. Dani used two of her fingers to lightly massage her girlfriend's clit: her hips bucking up in response.

"Are you ready?" The blonde husked into Santana's ear. She nodded her head and continued to quietly moan at the pleasure she was feeling in her most sensitive parts. Dani circled the taller girls entrance with her index finger and slowly pushed all the way in: the tight wet walls felt amazing around her finger. Santana instantly let out a moan, louder than any other she's let escape her lips: this turned Dani on beyond belief. Dani began thrusting her finger in and out and when she felt it was ok she slowly added a second finger. Santana's face scrunched up at the added pressure, it was a little uncomfortable at first but that quickly dissipated and turned into pleasure.

"Are you ok? Am I hurting you?" Dani asked concerned. Stopping her movements right away.

"No, don't stop." She pleaded, thrusting her hips downward searching for contact. Dani continued her movements inside the latina earning throaty moans, each louder than the last. The blonde attached her lips to Santana's neck and started nibbling and sucking on her sweet spot. One of Santana's hands flew to the back of her girlfriend's neck and the other to her back digging her nails into the soft skin.

"Oh my god, Dani." The darker girl moaned. Dani could feel the latina's walls starting to contract around her fingers. She sped her pace and palmed the darker girls clit. Santana felt an unfamiliar stirring in the lower part of her stomach as pleasure began washing over her. She held tighter to her girlfriend's body pulling her impossibly close. Dani continued her pace and furiously attacked her neck with sucking, biting, and soothing tongues. Santana desperately gripped at her and belted a loud moan. The blonde released the tanned skin from between her teeth and retracted her soaked fingers. Dani placed feather light kisses on Santana's forehead, both cheeks, the tip of her nose, and finally her lips.

"You ok?" the blonde asked.

"Yeah, I'm amazing. That was amazing." She responded pulling the girl above her in to a sloppy kiss. Santana grabbed a hold of Dani's hip and rolled them over so she was on top. Their kiss became more controlled and in synch. Santana wanted Dani to feel as good as she did, but she had no clue where to start. She'd never even touched her girlfriend anywhere below the neck, and now she has to pleasure her sexually. Santana slid her hand that was resting on Dani's shoulder down her chest to the front of her bra, her fingers playing with the bottom of the fabric.

"Do you want it off?" Dani asked seductively, breaking their kiss. The darker girl couldn't find the words, so she just nodded her head. The blonde slid from underneath her onto her feet. She reached behind her back to unhook her bra and teasingly slide it down her arms. Santana was staring in awe at how beautiful Dani was: she could hardly breathe and before she knew it, the blonde was sliding her panties down her legs as well.

"Now…where were we?" Dani said as she sat back on the bed. Santana was still staring, the butterflies in her stomach fluttering around uncontrollably. The latina gave her girlfriend a once over one last time. She leaned forward and rested her forehead against Dani's and laced their fingers together.

"Don't be afraid. Just…do what you feel is right." Dani said as she pulled Santana in by the back of her neck to connect their lips in a warm kiss. Gathering her confidence Santana grabbed a hold of Dani and flipped them over so she was on top, again. Dani shrieked at the sudden movement, liking how aggressive her girlfriend was getting. The darker girl laced their fingers together and pinned Dani's hands above her head: taking complete control of the kiss. Santana lightly nibbled on the blonde's lower lip, earning a moan, before kissing and licking down her neck towards her collarbone. Eager to get some form of release Dani ground her hips up into Santana's only to be held down by the darker haired girls own hips. The blonde was now completely restrained. She wanted some control, but at the same time she was incredibly turned on by her girlfriends sudden dominant nature. Santana freed her left hand and rested it on Dani's rib cage, while she continued working her way down the body below her, making sure to savor every inch of skin with her lips, tongue, and teeth. The blonde twisted her hand into the dark hair tickling her sides and pulled it back out of her girlfriends face. Santana briefly looked up to lock eyes with Dani before swooping down to take a nipple into her mouth: swirling her tongue around and doing the same to the rest of her breast. Dani let a shaky moan escape her throat.

"Jesus Christ, your tongue feels amazing." Santana let her hands slowly make their way down Dani's body to grip her thighs and rub circles on the inside. The blonde immediately started squirming, she had never been so turned on and needed someone so much.

"Santana?" She called out in a half moan. The latina lifted her head and planted a kiss to her girlfriends lips before responding. "yeah?" She kissed her again.

"Please, baby. I need you to touch m-." Her plea was cut off by Santana's lips attaching to her neck.

"Please" the blonde begged again. Santana knew she had to give her girlfriend what she needed but she was still nervous, she didn't want to let Dani down. The latina moved one of her hands to stroke Dani's wet folds. The blonde hissed and jerked her hips searching for more friction. Santana continued her pace agonizingly slow, driving the girl below her crazy. Dani knew it was Santana's first time, and she couldn't rush her but she needed more. She grabbed the darker girl's face on either side and pulled her in for an aggressive kiss. This seemed to help: Santana increased the amount of pressure she was using, making the blonde moan out and buck her hips up again. The darker girl, feeling bold enough, entered Dani with one finger. It felt a little strange at first because it was new territory, but as she continued stroking she discovered how much she loved being inside of her girlfriend. Dani gripped at Santana's lower back and squeezed her legs around the hand pleasuring her.

"Put another finger in" The blonde demanded. The taller girl did what she was told, still keeping her steady pace.

"Faster, baby. It's ok to be a little rough." Dani pleaded. Santana quickened her pace and plunged in as deep as she could, eager to give the girl beneath her what she needed.

"Fuck San, just like that." Dani moaned out. Santana looked at her girlfriend's changing expression. Her eyes were slammed shut and she was biting her lip trying to stifle her loud moaning. Remembering how much she liked it earlier, the darker girl dipped her head down to tease Dani's breasts again: licking and occasionally nibbling as much flesh as she could. Dani nearly lost it: she gripped the back of her girlfriend's head as her chest started to rise and fall rapidly from her increasing breath.

"Shit, I'm so close." She said followed by a moan. Santana could feel Dani's walls tightening around her fingers, so she used the thumb on her free hand to rub her clit. The blonde grabbed the pillow behind her head and let out two soft moans before completely coming undone and letting out one last loud cry of pleasure. Santana eased her fingers out of Dani's entrance and settled beside her, staring: waiting for her to say something.

"Fuck" Dani breathed out, still slightly out of breath.

"Was that ok? I didn't hurt you or anything, did I? I'm sorry I didn't really know what I was doing; I should ha-"

The darker girl was cut off by her girlfriends finger placed over her lips.

"Stop it. That was amazing." Dani said leaning up to place a kiss to her forehead.

"Really?"

"Yeah. It was perfect." The blonde shifted to lay her head on Santana's chest and started tracing circles on the tanned skin of her shoulder. "The way you took charge was extremely sexy. You knew exactly what to do, where'd you learn all that from?"

Santana reached for the blanket at the foot of her bed and pulled it up to cover their still nude bodies. "I watch a lot of hentai."

"Hen-what? You lost me"

"You know…animated Japanese porn."

"Sometimes I forget how much of a nerd you are. Can't you watch normal porn like everyone else?" Dani huffed out, earning a giggle from her girlfriend.

"It was a joke. I promise I don't watch porn of any kind."

"Okay…It's ok if you do. Just, you know. Don't watch when I'm in the room, that's weird."

"I swear, I don't!" Santana raised her voice.

"Alright, alright I believe you." Dani giggled. "Are you feeling ok?"

"Yeah, I feel great. Better than great, actually."

"Thank, goodness. I was so nervous." The blonde breathed out.

"What? How come?" Santana asked curiously

"I don't know. I guess I didn't want to disappoint you. It was your first time, it's a huge deal."

The darker girl smiled and started stroking the nest of blonde hair resting beneath her chin. "It was absolutely perfect. I didn't feel pressured, you took it easy on me, and I just felt really safe." Santana finished with a kiss atop her girlfriends head. Dani couldn't help but start laughing.

"Are you serious right now?" the latina let out half frustrated half laughing

"I'm sorry, babe you're so cute and that was really sweet. But it was so corny." The blonde continued. "Is this how you treat all the girls? Deflower them and then laugh at them?" Santana rolled on her side away from Dani

"Ok, I'm sorry." Dani leaned over and forced her girlfriend to face her.

"I'm never being nice to you again."

The blonde straddled her hips. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry." Dani said, kissing a new area of skin on the darker girls face between each phrase. "I'm so sorry. I l-" She froze. Dani was about to say she loved her, but she caught herself. She'd never thought of saying those words to the girl below her, and here she almost said it like it was a reflex. Like it was just a natural thing she would say to her.

"You what?" Santana said breaking the blonde from her thoughts.

"I…I really am sorry. Forgive me? Please?" Dani begged

"Fine…but only because you're pretty." Dani smiled and leaned down to mold her lips to Santana's for a few minutes before they cuddled into each other and drifted into a deep slumber.

* * *

**Hiii! SO SORRY. it's been about almost a month since i've updated. My life got momentarily crazy. Hopefully this chapter makes up for neglecting you guys so long :) The next few chapters are going to be intense, so prepare yourselves! ****  
**


	15. Hannah

**Hello all! Since it took me so long to update the last chapter i though i'd give you guys this one ASAP. As always please please please review and enjoy :) x**

* * *

The_ Next Morning  
__Dani's POV_

I woke up to something tickling my nose. Cracking my eyes open I saw a nest of black hair, and I smiled to myself. Santana's head was on my chest, and I could feel her breath caressing my skin. Our naked bodies are pressed together under the covers, and our legs are tangled. I started stroking her hair, envying that fact that even after the night we had and sleeping on it, it's still soft and relatively tangle free. Santana started wiggling around a little, letting me know she was waking up. I kissed her forehead down to the bridge of her nose, until I saw her eyes flutter open.

"Good morning." I said, still stroking her hair.

"Good morning." She smiled "I like waking up next to you."

"I like waking up next to you too. How do you feel? Are you sore?"

"Yeah it hurts a little, but I'm ok." Santana said as she propped herself up on her elbow

"No regrets?" I know she told me she was absolutely sure more than once, but I needed to be certain.

"None what so ever, I'm happy we slept together. We should do it again sometime." I giggle as she leaned in to attach her lips to mine for the first time since last night.

"I'd love to, but maybe not while your parents are here. We're a little loud." I pulled away.

"Oh crap, my parents. When do you think they got here?" Santana asked nervously

"They got here around 6am."

"Ok so its…" she looked at the clock on her nightstand …"9 o'clock now. Good they wont be up for hours. We aren't caught."

"Great. We should go get breakfast, I'm starving!" I rolled out of bed and immediately started looking for my clothes.

"Ok, someone's in a rush." Santana said, following my actions.

"Yeah. We haven't been caught and I'd like to leave so we can keep it that way. Bring some clothes, we'll shower at my place."

"Good point. Let's get the hell out of here."

Within an hour we were both showered and dressed. It was a beautiful day so we decided that we would just walk. Santana and I are always together, but today, in this moment it feels different. It feels like a part of me lives through her, like we're eternally connected. Basking in this new feeling I couldn't help but run through the list of all the things I love about her. I love her smile, I love the way the wind blows in her hair and somehow it maintains its perfection, I love how sultry her voice is, I love her laugh, I love her secret nerdiness, I love how underneath all of her tough exterior she's just an innocent softie with a really big heart. I love the way her name feels when I say it, I love the way her lips move against mine, I love how she smells, I love how her skin tastes, I love the way she molds into me when I hold her, I love that we're so much alike, and I love that we're so different. Love. Love. Love. I looked up at the girl walking beside me to find her staring right back. I could tell by the look in her eyes that she was thinking something similar along the lines of what I was just seconds ago. She grabbed my hand and laced our fingers together. Shocked, I looked down at our joined hands, and back up to her. Santana's still half way in the closet, which is why this sudden public act of affection took me so off guard.

"I thought that you weren't ready t-" Santana cut me off

"No, not any more… I…I L-"

"Santana?" An unfamiliar voice in the distance interrupted her. I had a feeling as to what Santana was going to say, but actually hearing it would have been even better. I looked up at the person approaching us; she was tall, taller than Santana, and she had blonde hair. I couldn't quite make out her face just yet. Santana's breath caught in her throat and she dropped my hand. I looked at her face, and could see the panic clearly spread across it.

"Hi Kate." She choked out. I whipped my head around to see what the mysterious girl I'd heard so much about looked like.

"Oh my God." I let the words escape my lips before I had a chance to speak. "Hannah?...You're Kate?" I asked, extremely confused. I knew exactly who this girl was, but when I knew her she went by Hannah.

"I'm sorry…what?" It was Santana's turn to be confused now.

Hannah…or Kate stared at me for a while before finally recognizing me.

"Holy crap. Dani? I didn't recognize you without your black hair…and clothes…and well, all black everything."

"ha, yeah. I uh. I changed a little."

"So…you two know each other?"

"Um…you could say that." I replied nervously

"Oh come on, Dani. You know that we know each other darn well. We were pretty close."

Santana pulled me a few feet away and adjusted our bodies so we were facing each other.

"Dani, please tell me what's going on. How do you know Kate? Why did you call her 'Hannah'?"

"Well.." I started, and took a deep breath. "…remember, I told you that I had a one night stand, once?"

"Yeah, what does that have to do w-" The realization hit her and her once calm slightly confused expression turned to hurt and anger. "Oh my…seriously?! Kate. Of all people!"

"Hey what's wrong?" Kate said as she bounded over.

"You slept with my fucking girlfriend! That's what's wrong." Santana snapped.

"Ohhh so this is your girlfriend? Small world." The taller blonde began giggling to herself as she started to speak again. "You know it would be really awkward if she took your virginity too."

What was already awkward turned into just…I don't even know. Kate looked a little too happy to make this situation uncomfortable. Santana just looked plain angry.

"Santana?...Say something." I pleaded and stepped forward to place my hand on her shoulder. She jerked away from me.

"I can't believe this…when? When did it happen, Dani?"

"I don't know…" I tried to think back. "I think sometime last March or April."

"Seriously? Right after we broke up? You just couldn't help yourself could you?" the darker girl snapped at me.

"San, I didn't know she wa-"

"Just stop it!" She cut me off. "You're 16 years old Dani, and you've slept with what? 4 people already?"

"Baby please, I-"

"Is this what you do? Make someone give it up to you and then go slut it up with the next person?"

That was it. My heart broke into a million pieces. Yes I was more experienced than Santana, but I was in a relationship with 2 of the girls and Hannah/Kate was something different that she didn't even let me explain. I thought I could trust Santana. She had always been so sweet to me...and I was really about to tell her I loved her. Tears made their way to my eyes and quickly began spilling down my cheeks. I looked at Santana's face and a sob erupted from my chest. Her features had softened from what I'm guessing was the realization of what she just said to me.

I turned on my heal and began running back to my house.

I heard a 'Dani wait' shouted in my direction from Santana, but I didn't stop. I couldn't stand to be close to her when she could choose to hurt me so easily.


End file.
